The Portal
by cookiesandcream91
Summary: Three of them came back, severely injured & distraught. Tenten & Ino were still out there, missing. The masked men were preparing to re-open the portal, to let the beasts out again, but this time using the kunoichi's blood. "How far from where we are now?" Gaara asked. Neji's eyes narrowed. "About 64 kilometers." [NejTen] [GaaIno] (ch13 rewritten)!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Summary: Three of them came back, severely injured & distraught. Tenten & Ino were still out there, missing. The masked men were preparing to re-open the portal again, this time using the kunoichi's blood. [NejTen] [GaaIno] [ShikaTem] [SasuSaku] [NaruHina]

* * *

It was quickly getting darker, despite the fact that they were running away from the source that was emitting such darkness. There were other villagers running away too, with their families in hand. Some of them got caught and were immediately dragged back into the dense forest. They all tried to stay as quiet as possible while running and hiding, but as the night got darker and the temperature dropped, the creature could hear and sense where they were. At first, brave shinobis from the village thought they were able to kill it; however they were proven wrong immediately. Once the creature escaped, villagers immediately began to evacuate - leaving their precious belongings behind.

With one arm supporting Ino, Tenten dragged themselves towards a large tree trunk. She quickly looked behind to make sure that the thing had not followed them. With such darkness though, it was hard to see what was going on. Tenten winced as she heard other people throughout the forest scream in pain as the creature grabbed a hold of them.

Ino tapped on her shoulder and Tenten looked at her. Both kunoichi knew that even whispering could give away their location. Tenten gave a slight nod and helped Ino get back on her feet. Silently, they continued walking through the forest, hoping that they would see sunlight soon.

Tenten closed her eyes for a bit and thought of Neji, hoping that he and everyone else would come soon. However, she feared that the likely hood of that was slim, as no one knew where they were.

It was supposed to be a straightforward mission alongside Ino, Sakura, Hinata, and Temari. They were to go to an unknown isolated village and rescue some kunoichi who were originally from the Hidden Leaf Village. The three women who they were supposed to rescue had been held hostage in that village for a while, mostly due to the fact that majority of people outside the village didn't even know that it existed. However, with the help of Hinata's Byakugan, they were able to identify the small village.

The village had very few fighting ninjas, thus making the mission even easier for the 5 kunoichis. However, something happened while the rescue was going underway and all hell broke loose.

"Help me please! Help me! ARGH-!"

Tenten and Ino froze as the man's arms, which were wrapped around both girls a second ago, were ripped away and his body was thrown to the floor. Both girls closed their eyes as they heard the noise of bones crunching as the now dead villager was dragged into the deeper part of the forest.

Tenten and Ino still kept their eyes closed and arms wrapped around each other as they heard one of the creatures take small steps around them. They knew that if they kept quiet, the creature wouldn't know that they were there.

Ino held her breath as she felt hot breath near her legs, and she knew that the creature was just inches away from them. Tears swelled around her eyes and onto Tenten's shoulders as she tried to think of something else in order to calm herself. The image of Gaara flashed through her mind but quickly vanished as one of the limbs of the creature bumped into them. Both of them held on tighter to each other to ensure that neither would fall and make a noise.

Tenten felt Ino's tears on her shoulders, and she too began to tear up. She thought of the mission, and how they were taken by surprise by the deep dark secret that the unknown village was holding; which ultimately caused them to abort the mission. She thought about Hinata, Temara, and Sakura and hoped that they were at least a day-away from Konoha by now. She wondered if they would be rescued soon, but now knowing where they had run towards while escaping this creature, she became worried about anyone ever finding them.

Both girls heard the creature sit on the ground hard and tussle through some leaves. The pressure within their chests increased as they knew that they would not be able to move a muscle until it went away. Both girls prayed as more tears slid down their cheeks.

Ino could feel the blood dripping down from her wound by her abdomen and onto her leg. She knew that she would have to treat her wound as soon as possible before collapsing on the ground from blood loss and dooming them both.

* * *

Tsunade knew that it has been almost four days, and the female ninjas have not returned. She had faith in all of the girls that they would be OK, but something deep in her stomach was telling her that she needed to send a rescue party as soon as possible.

"You still have not answered me, Tsunade-sama."

The homage sighed and turned around from the window, staring into the expressionless eyes of Neji Hyuga. The moment he stepped in her office, she knew what he wanted. Tenten, Hinata, and the rest of them were supposed to be back days ago, but there were still no signs of them.

"Where did you send them?" Neji asked a second time, his tone becoming more irritated.

"To an unknown village...a village that has been difficult to locate for many years. I sent them on a simple rescue mission to rescue three kunoichi who had disappeared over a year ago."

Neji's eyes narrowed suspiciously and Tsunade continued. "We have very limited information for that village. So far, we don't know it's backstory. It's almost as if just appeared...out of nowhere. I had sent 3 ninjas originally to observe it and report to me what they found. Unfortunately, they never came back. Afterwards, I sent more shinobis to the area to look for the first three ninjas, but for some reason, the village just disappeared from where we were sure it was located."

Tsunade walked around her office and grabbed a small box. She opened it and pulled out two scrolls as she continued speaking, "About a month ago, the father of one of the original missing kunoichi found the village, but in a different location. He wanted to sneak in and investigate, but he mentioned that the atmosphere of the area was dark and that something did not feel right. He was an old man, barely capable of running for a few minutes. When he returned to Konoha, he pleaded me to send a rescue team and bring his daughter back. In his heart, he felt that she was still alive."

She gave the scrolls to Neji, who opened the first one and quickly read it through. He opened the second one and narrowed his eyes at her. "There's barely any information here regarding that village."

Tsunade nodded as Neji handed her the scrolls back. Thanks to the heartbroken father who sent searching for his missing daughter, Tsunade was able to retrieve more information on the place. One unique characteristic of the village were the trees, according to the man. The trees were not the usual trees that Konoha proudly had. According to the man, the trees looked like as if they were caving in towards the village, almost as if protecting it. There were barely any structures however he did notice how the ground seemed off. With this bit of information, Tsunade had become concerned that the reason why the village was hard to find was because it was mostly underground.

"Excuse me, Tsunade-sama!" a female officer walked inside, quickly bowing her head towards the Hokage.

"Speak."

"Three of them have arrived!"

* * *

The creature had walked away minutes ago, but both of them had stayed still just in case it was still around. The shouts of dying people stopped, and the night became quiet.

Tenten rose her head up and looked around, hoping to see a light in the midst of all the darkness. She felt Ino slipping towards the ground and immediately caught her by her arms. She placed one of her arms around her shoulder and continued walking.

Ino rose her head slightly and looked behind them, making sure that no dark shadows were fallowing them. She could feel Tenten limping and it hurt her that she could not help her friend, since she herself was bleeding and had limited chakra. She closed her eyes again as an image of the red-haired Kazekage went through her mind. She wondered if he was thinking about her, or even searching for her by now. Ino pressed her lips together as she imagined Gaara appearing out of nowhere and rescuing them. She imagined his arms around her as he swept her away from this place. Generally, she would be able to hold her ground and fight back – not be afraid of whatever would come for her.

But tonight….

Tonight was different…

Tonight, she experienced a horror that she had never experienced before…

Tenten let out a scream as all of the sudden the ground beneath her feet gave in.

Ino gasped as she tried to grab Tenten's arms but felt them slip from her hands. She looked back as she heard loud rustling, and knew that the creature had heard the scream. She knelt down on the ground and felt the gaping hole. She turned her head back again and saw trees violently knocked down.

Panicking, Ino swung her legs towards the hole and lowered her body inside the small man-made cave, wincing as she felt her wound bleed more. Her heart beat faster as she wondered where Tenten landed. After her initial scream, Tenten made no other noise and Ino worried that she was probably seriously injured. As her feet touched the ground, she crouched and reached her hand out. The first thing she felt was Tenten's head and she quickly crawled towards the injured kunoichi. Tenten was breathing loudly and Ino placed her hand over her mouth as she heard loud stumping and growling from up above.

Ino looked up and through the opening of the ground, saw large tentacle-like shadows passing back and forth. She closed her eyes tightly and prayed that the beast went away.

Tenten opened one of her eyelids and looked up, watching Ino crouching next to her with her hand over her mouth. She felt her shoulder ache terribly and knew that something had stabbed her. Tears gathered around her eyes as she thought of Neji and wondered if he was on his way to her…

* * *

Hinata trembled as she felt gentle hands sit her down on a chair. Her breathing was loud and she ignored the footsteps walking past her.

Naruto wrapped her hand in a white towel and looked at her worryingly. Ever since she arrived, she had not said anything except for a few words. Naruto recognized this behavior from her – it's how she would react when something terrible has happened and she couldn't put it in words.

"Hinata…" Naruto said softly, and finally she looked up at him.

Naruto stared back at her pupil-less eyes and wondered what had happened in the last two weeks that she was gone. Even though Hinata was not as injured as Temari or Sakura, Naruto felt as if mentally she was not there.

"It happened so fast…"

Naruto turned around as he heard Sakura's shaking voice. Tsunade had healed her gaping wound on her thigh before running back towards her office upon hearing that the Kazekage was in Konoha.

Sasuke was in the room as well and although he was quiet, he had Sakura on his lap as she stared towards the wall. Naruto had known for quite some time that the two had been dating, but this was the first time he had seen Sasuke show public affection towards the pink-haired girl. The moment the gate doors had opened and a bleeding Sakura was seen, supported by Hinata, Sasuke had ran towards her and immediately gathered her in his arms.

"We don't know where they came from….We tried to fight them but there were so many and it got dark really fast. Those _things_…it's like….it's like they're not from this world." Sakura said, her voice getting louder. Sasuke held her hand tighter as he gave her a worried look.

Hinata's tears started rolling down her cheeks as she thought of Ino and Tenten and how they must still be out there. Guilt shot through her body as she remembered supporting both an injured Sakura and Temari out of the forest before the dark fog came down. She had tried using her Byakugan to see where Tenten and Ino were, but was unable to stop as she noticed dark shadows, shape of humans almost, approaching them.

After some time, the shadows had stopped and Hinata, tired from supporting both Sakura and Temari, had stopped to rest as well.

"Ino and Tenten are still out there….and we couldn't get them." Sakura said as her voice became shaky and Hinata immediately started crying.

"I should have….I sh-should…."

"Hinata, it's OK-"

"N-No Naruto, I should have gone back for them!" Hinata screamed as she balled her hands into fists and looked down at the floor.

Shikamaru sighed as he turned around, exited the room, and walked into the room in which Temari was resting. He was still trying to piece together what had happened to the kunoichis. Hinata, while not physically injured, seemed to have been experiencing anxiety attacks from whatever they had run away from. Sakura had a terrible wound on her thigh which she herself could not have cured. She had actually used some of her healing to heal Temari, who had arrived with a broken arm and injured back.

Shikamaru sat on the chair next to the bed Temari was laying on and held her hand, waiting for her to wake up.

Tsunade had checked up on her first before attending Sakura. When Shikamaru ran towards the gate to see Temari, he was shocked to see how badly she was beaten. Her words were incoherent and eventually she had passed out from the pain. Shikamaru stood up as he felt a familiar presence and saw Kankuro standing behind him with a worried look.

Shikamaru was not surprised that Kankuro was in Konoha, considering both Temari and himself were supposed to go to the Sand village after the mission. However after multiple days of not knowing what had happened to the Kunoichi, Shikamaru had suspected that both Gaara and Kankuro would have immediately travelled to Konoha.

"How long has she been unconscious for?" Kankuro asked.

Shikamaru turned and faced him before answering "At least a day….".

Kankuro pulled a chair next to the bed, opposite of Shikamaru, and stared at his sister.

"What happened out there?"

"Even I am still trying to puzzle the pieces together." Shikamaru replied, looking back at Temari. "So far, only Sakura has been the only one to give us some clues. Hinata is traumatized and Temari has been unconscious this whole time. From what Sakura has mentioned, looks like something terrible attacked them and everyone else in that village."

Shikamaru continued as he looked at Kankuro. "Tenten and Ino are still missing."

"I know. That's why Gaara is here…"

* * *

Tenten shifted uncomfortably and furrowed her eyebrows as a bright light hit her in the face. Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked up, seeing daylight for the first time in almost a day. From the gap that was created when she fell in, she saw the trees rustling peacefully against the wind. Everything seemed much calmer.

Tenten lifted her upper body slightly and groaned at the sharp pain in her shoulder. She felt the sharp rock from the back of her shoulder. She reached behind and after counting to three, she pulled the rock out of her shoulder and winced as the pain increased.

She heard Ino wake up and immediately sit up.

"Tenten, your shoulder." She whispered. "We need to get that wrapped up."

Tenten nodded and whispered back. "We have no bandages."

"How comfortable are you in shorts?" Ino whispered, pointed their last kunai on to Tenten's long red pants.

Tenten sighed, shaking her head while whispering back. "Do I have a choice? Either that, or we both bleed out from our wounds."

Ino nodded and looked back up through the gap, hoping that the beasts from last night were not around.

Tenten undid the buttons from her pants and slowly slid them off her legs.

Ino helped her stretch the pants out on the ground and then with the kunai, started cutting the pants into shorts. She knew that Tenten would be uncomfortable going around in shorts. She recalled the time Sakura had gifted the bun-haired girl a beautiful pink skirt on her birthday. Since it had been a gift, Tenten had felt obligated to wear it…and she had. The skirt had been shorter than anyone else had realized, and Ino smirked as she recalled the shocked face Neji Hyuga had upon seeing Tenten with her hair down and most of her legs in display in that bright pink short skirt.

Tenten put on her newly made shorts as Ino cut the leftover fabric of the pants into long bandages. Ino grabbed one of the pieces and carefully wrapped it around her stomach, covering the wound from yesterday. Tenten unbuttoned her shirt and Ino grabbed another piece of the fabric and wrapped it around Tenten's bruised shoulder.

"Do you think it's still around?" Ino whispered.

Tenten shrugged. "I don't know. It's oddly quiet out there."

Ino nodded and slowly crouched upwards. She lifted her head through the gap and slowly looked around. The trees were still rustling through the wind. Slowly, she crawled back down to the small cave.

"Looks like it's safe. We should start walking now while it is still daylight."

Tenten nodded and crouched upwards, ignoring the pain in her shoulder.

Ino got upwards again and slowly climbed out of the cave. She turned back and grabbed Tenten's arm, helping her out of the tight space.

Both girls started walking again, looking around once in a while to ensure that nothing was following them. They thought back at how all of this started. How Tsunade had cautioned them to be careful, as the village they were to approach was not even on the map. The only thing that they had known were just the small details provided by farmers and travelers passing by the area towards Konoha. The five of them had been eager to do this mission and rescue the three missing kunoichi. It had taken a while for them to locate the village, as most of it was underground. They found a secret passage and had snuck inside, surprised to see how different everything was from the inside.

They had been met with wooden stairs that had travelled hundreds of feet down. There weren't many people around, which had made it easier for them to go downstairs until they had been met with large doors.

Ino gasped as she felt something cold clamp on to her ankle. Tenten looked at her and noticed metal binds around Ino's ankle. Before she could process what had happened, Tenten felt a cold metal cuff around her wrist and was immediately dragged backwards. Heavy footsteps surrounded them and Tenten looked up. She saw a man wearing a white suit and black mask staring down at her with an amused stare.

"These two should be enough for the next stage."


	2. Chapter 2

Tsunade laid out the two scrolls in front of the Kazekage and sat back down. She knew why he had arrived to her village. As the Kazekage read through the minimal information on the scrolls, she gave a worrying look to Naruto. The blond haired ninja had laid Hinata to rest before joining Neji and Gaara in Tsunade's office.

"Sakura will be here soon to provide more details on what she saw." Mentioned the Hokage as Gaara laid the scrolls back down.

He did not say anything and simply stared at the scrolls. He had already seen his sister and had seen the scratches that were visible by the side of her neck. After speaking briefly with Shikamaru, he had walked towards the Hokage's office.

Tsunade knew that he demanded answers, even though he had barely said a word since sitting in her office. She also knew who was on his mind, and why he had bothered making the long journey from the Sand Village to Konoha. For the past few years, Tsunade had heard the rumors that had been going around regarding the Kazekage and Ino Yamanaka. Although many were not sure when it all started, all Sakura had been able to tell Tsunade was that it had all started around the time Ino first accompanied Shikamaru to Sunagakure.

Tsunade's train of thoughts were interrupted as Sasuke walked in to her office, one arm around Sakura's waist. Even though the kunoichi's injuries were almost gone, Sasuke still had his arm around her, as if making sure that she wouldn't disappear. This was the first time Tsunade had seen Sasuke show affection towards the pink-haired girl in public.

Neji stared at the couple as they were finally inside the office and Sasuke helped Sakura sit down on a chair to the left of the Kazekage. Neji briefly closed his eyes and thought of Tenten, wondering where she was and hoping that she was still alive. Ever since learning about the delay of the mission and seeing Hinata's traumatized expression, the Hyuga prodigy wanted a rescue mission right away. However, he had agreed with Tsunade that they should first hear from Sakura and what details she could provide that could help with the rescue mission.

Sakura looked up and saw that everyone's eyes were on her. She cleared her throat and started talking.

"We were able to find the village after a few days. At first we were not sure if it was even a village, since there were only few houses around. We didn't see many people around, and everything was so quiet. We decided to wait around a bit before taking action. Hinata used her Byakugan and saw layers upon layers of stairs underneath the ground. We found a secret passage, hidden around some bushes. We noticed that most people were coming out from a different passage, so we figured that there would be multiple ways to go underground."

Sakura took a sip of her water and continued, meeting lady Tsunade's eyes. "The reason why the village was difficult to find was because it is mostly underground. When we reached underground, it was all stairs at first…stairs that led to all directions. There were people laying on the floor, sleeping or eating. They were not ninjas…just villagers. Some even saw us, and did nothing. They just carried on with their lives. We saw children running around, playing, and women with buckets of water washing and drying clothes. Everything seemed strange. It's as if no one cared that five ninjas had just sneaked in to their homes. Majority of them did not even pay us any attention."

"If the villagers did not attack you guys, then what did?" inquired Naruto.

Sakura looked up at him and continued. "We don't know what attacked us. And it did not attack just us…it attacked everyone. We found these doors after getting to the lowest level. We knew we were deep underground now. There were tunnels everywhere, and around that area there were no villagers. For some reason, the doors were not closed and we could see what was going inside."

As Sakura continued, she made eye contact with lady Tsunade. "We saw the three missing kunoichi, alive."

Tsunade gasped feeling relieved yet more nervous as Sakura continued. "We saw them, but they were bound to this large machine. They had needles injected into them everywhere. They were barely clothed too. They looked weak and could barely stand. There were marks all over their bodies, as if they were experimented on. There were men in white suits and black masks all over….There were large wires everywhere and they all lead to this open area….almost like a cave. Hinata used her Byakugan to see what was inside that cave, and there was nothing at all actually…not right though…"

"What do you mean not right away?" asked Neji.

Sakura looked at Neji and then at Gaara, as both men stared back at her. She could imagine what they were feeling, knowing that Tenten and Ino were still out there, missing. She felt Sasuke rub her shoulder caringly, and she gave a slight nod before continuing.

"We knew it would not be wise to rescue the women right away. There were a lot of these men around and some had this strange equipment in their hands. While we were planning on how to get them out, we heard what sounded like lightning….which was strange since we were so underground! Everything else happened so fast! We looked inside and saw a blue shadow in the form of a circle appear out of nowhere. Then it grew much larger and all of the sudden, these things started coming out from it."

Sakura knew that she probably sounded crazy to them, but she continued on with her story. "I am not sure how to describe the…they're nothing that we've seen before. The moment they ran in to the lab, they started destroying everything…."

"What about the men in white with the black masks? What about the three kunoichi that were trapped in there?" Tsunade asked.

"The three kunoichi…Tsunade-sama….were dead the moment those creatures came through. The men in white were trying to contain them, but they were so fast and so many that they couldn't. We knew that if those things got out, it would wreak havoc to those who could not protect themselves! So we joined the fight, but they were so many and this blue light….from where they came from….immediately turned into a dark fog and no one could see what was going on properly. Things started collapsing within, so we started to retreat. Those creatures were fast and all of the sudden, we were all fighting them while trying to escape. The fog that had emitted from the blue light took over and it was impossible to fight. The villagers from the levels above immediately started opening all of the passages that lead to the outside, so we followed the sunlight."

Tsunade took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Naruto looked at her suspiciously. "Jiraiya had told me stories of unknown groups trying to open portals to other dimensions by sucking blood out of people." The blond-haired ninja proclaimed, and everyone in the room looked at him in surprised. Naruto continued speaking as his eyes never left Tsunade's. "I thought he was joking, and even he himself was not too sure if all of it was true, considering no one has actually verified this. It has all been rumors and stories for years."

"Even I have heard the same stories, Uzumaki." Tsunade replied. "These masked men must be the reason why everything is underground. They were hiding something dark."

"It explains the blue light." Sakura said. "The creatures though, they seem to be blind. After we had escaped on to the daylight, Hinata and I were standing quietly in front of one, but it did nothing. It just walked around and quickly left once it heard a noise. We saw nothing that looked like eyes. We found Temari on the ground with her arm broken. We believe she may have been in contact with one of the creatures. Hinata searched the area for Tenten and Ino, but the darkness that came with the creatures immediately surrounded us, and even the byakugan was not as effective. Villagers from under and above ground started running and panicking, but all that did was get them killed as the creatures were much faster than them. We started escaping ourselves from the area, and one of the creatures attacked us."

* * *

Hands and ankles cuffed, Ino and Tenten were dragged back to the underground layer in which the underground village once existed. Now that it was daylight, they were able to see the destruction that the creatures had left behind. Bodies were scattered everywhere, blood stained on the ground. Tenten closed her eyes as she saw the head of a little girl with wide eyes staring back at her from the ground. Ino gave a worrying look to her comrade before looking straight ahead.

Ino was able to hear some of the conversations that the men in front of them were having. They had spoken about the creatures running back underground through the portal. They had spoken how finally they were able to summon the creatures from the other dimensions…That the next step now was to control them. That was the next stage that the man had spoken about before taking them away.

But for that, they needed more blood.

Female blood….

Ino tried to keep her mind positive, knowing that by now, Konoha would be ready to send out a rescue team for them. And not just Konoha, but Gaara too… She smiled a bit as she remembered the times she had spent with him.

~ Flash Back ~

Ino stared at her food for a bit before looking at Gaara from underneath her lashes, watching him look back at her with his typical blank looks. They were purposely sitting across from each other as Temari, Shikamaru, Kankuro, and Chouji sat around them and continued their loud conversations.

Despite the fact that both of them had been sneaking around for over a year now, Ino still felt nervous and shy around him. Even though he was mostly quiet, he would sneak behind her and trail soft quiet kisses around her bare shoulders. On the days that she would wear her purple mini skirt, he would give caress her bare thighs whenever they would be alone in his bedroom.

Outside the public eye, Gaara was very touchy… And Ino had no complaints. In fact, it was the driving factor as to why most of the clothes she brought to the Sand village had her showing a lot of skin.

Because he was the Kazekage though, she knew that in public, it was best for them to have some distance between each other. Their relationship was not a simple. Not because of the long distance, but because he was the Kazekage and she was just Ino. Eventually, he would have to marry to continue his clan. And so far, the councilmen in his village did not know about their relationship and would not want him being with someone outside of Suna.

Shikamaru had once caught them together in Konoha, during the timeframe in which the Kazekage was visiting the Hokage on a business trip. It was the first time Shikamaru had caught them together, and would definitely have not been his last…

Ino remembered that time. They had been near a waterfall, many miles away from the Hidden Leaf village. She had been wearing a small, almost revealing two-piece white bikini and was drenched head to toe, her blond hair cascading around her shoulders. Sitting closely behind her on a rock had been Gaara, eyes closed as he had meditated.

Ino had turned around, bikini top now off, and sat herself between his legs. She had leaned her head back, resting it on his shoulder, as the Kazekage buried his face on the crook of her neck while his hands had started trailing up her arms, to her shoulders, and eventually to other places on her upper body….

After accidentally catching them several times, Shikamaru had warned her to be careful. The Kazekage still had enemies out there, still had some issues with his past, and his councilmen weren't aware of their relationship.

Chouji's yelling interrupted her thoughts as he demanded more meat be brought towards the grill. Shikamaru sighed in annoyance as Ino smiled at Chouji's antics.

About an hour later, Shikamaru and Temari both got up, staring at each other. "We are going to head back. It is getting very late." Temari said and after saying their goodbyes, left.

Chouji excused himself as well, mentioning how he had some leftover dessert from yesterday in the fridge that he wanted to try.

Finally, it was just the three of them: Kankuro, Ino, and the Kazekage.

Knowing that he was about to become the third wheel soon, Kankuro also excused himself but not before giving a wink to Ino and thumps up. Ino blushed and looked away. Kankuro knew way too much….

"Are you ready?"

Looking up at him, she nodded and both left via different routes, yet to the same destination….

~ End Flash Back ~

* * *

Shikamaru finished zipping his small bag and looked next to him, watching as Neji stared from the window. After Sakura finished telling the horrors of their ordeal to everyone in the room, Neji had stared directly at Tsunade. Tsunade knew what the Hyuuga wanted and sighing, had told everyone to get start getting prepared. They were to leave in one hour.

They had another fifteen minutes before their mission started. Lee, Chouji, Shino, and Kiba were present in the room as soon as they were informed with what had happened.

Naruto was speaking to a now calm Hinata, promising her that he would bring the two missing kunoichi back safely.

Shikamaru walked out of the room they were huddled in and towards the room in which Temari was still resting in. Her arm was wrapped in a cast and she had small band-aids all over her body. Kankuro and Gaara were in there as well.

"We are leaving soon." Shikamaru said calmly.

Temari looked at him, giving him a slight nod.

"Please be careful. I don't know what those things were. But they were fast….too fast…to be killed."

Shikamaru held her hand and kissed the top of it.

"I will be."

He got up and walked towards Tsunade's office where the rest of them were waiting for him. Due to his strong leadership skills, they had chosen him to lead the rescue mission. As he neared the hokage's office, he saw Sasuke and Sakura not too far away, having a silent yet serious conversation.

"I have to go." Sakura whispered loudly, staring right into those eyes that she had always loved staring into.

"No." Sasuke replied, "You were almost killed. We don't know what we're dealing with and I can't afford seeing you get injured again."

"Tenten and Ino are still out there, probably hurt! I need to be there. Even if you find them, you'll need a medic right there to treat their wounds. It will take days for any of you to reach back to Konoha."

Sasuke stared back at her, knowing that she was right. Sakura was mostly healed now, so she would still be able to travel along with them. Placing one hand on her cheek and stepping closer, watching her face blush, Sasuke replied back to her. "I do not want you fighting these things." He stared back at her bright green eyes as he continued, "You will stay within a distance. We will bring Tenten and Ino to you to heal. I can't afford to seeing you this injured again."

Sakura nodded in agreement and they embraced before walking inside Tsunade's office and joining the others.

Shikamaru, Neji, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Lee, Shino, Chouji, and Kiba stood in front of the Hokage as she stood up, Shizune standing right by her side.

"Your mission is simple." The hokage spoke. "You are to bring Tenten and Ino back safely. Use all means possible to achieve that. In addition, notate everything you see. I will start warning other villages about what is going on. We don't know if these creatures are capable of traveling long distance. The last thing we want is to have villages attacked by these things."

Tsunade stood up as she continued speaking "The nine of you… be careful. We do not know what we're dealing with."

The nine ninjas nodded in understanding. They all turned around as footsteps approached them from behind.

Gaara stopped next to Shikamaru and stared at the Hokage in front of him. "I will be coming too."

Tsunade's eyes widened and she shook her head. "With all due respect Kazekage-sama, but this mission is dangerous and you may be needed in your village. Our resources are capable of bringing them back."

Gaara did not blink as he replied. "I will be coming. And I will bring her back."

Tsunade sighed, knowing that there was no arguing with the Kazekage. Considering how unannounced his presence was, she should have realized that nothing would stop this man from finding Ino and bringing her back.

"Be safe, all of you." Tsunade said.

The ten ninjas nodded and left.


	3. Chapter 3

Tenten's eyes furrowed as she woke up. She tried to move, but realized that she could not. Opening her eyes fully, she looked around frantically, noticing that she was inside a large plastic tube, completely filled with water.

She started to panic and tried to push herself forward, despite her wrists and ankles anchored to the platform underneath her. She felt a small breathing mask covering her nose and mouth, and she was relieved to know that she was still getting some oxygen. Holding her breath underwater was something she wasn't good at.

Tenten looked around her, her hair getting in front of her face. She looked down and noticed that she was almost naked. They had stripped her down to just her bra and panties. Whimpering in disgust as she thought of strange men undressing her while she was unconscious, Tenten tried to scream and then realized something else by the back of her neck. Although it was hard to initially take notice due to being underwater, she felt a needle stuck on the back of her neck.

Tenten turned her head to her left, trying to see where the tube attached to the back of her neck was really coming from. She noticed a small opening by a corner with more small tubes wrapping around the base of the tube. To her horror, she saw the rest of her body covered with more needles. There were about five on her stomach and several more around her thighs and legs.

"Looks like this one woke up a bit too early."

Tenten looked up as she heard one of the men in white suits knock onto the plastic tube. Too early for what?

"It's fine," the man next to him stated, staring down at Tenten as she narrowed her eyes back at him. "Inject her with more of the B10-X. Give her a stronger dose this time. How's her blood level?"

Tenten gave a questioning look. Why were they curious about her blood level?

A third man answered, looking at a notepad. "Her blood level is still too low for the next stage, sir. The other one is doing much better though."

The second man sighed and shook his head. "We need both of them. Give her a stronger dose of B19-B then. I need her blood level to go up. One person may not enough to have the portal open. How bad did those beasts damage the reactors?"

"Damaged, but not beyond repair. Our men should have it running in another twenty hours."

The second man nodded as a fourth man appeared. The fourth man kneeled next to the tube Tenten was in. Tenten's eyes widened as she saw the man take out a large syringe and inject one of the tubes with a dark green liquid. He took out another syringe and injected the same tube with a red liquid.

She began to panic as she watched the dark green and red liquids travel inside one of the tubes, eventually fusing as they traveled towards her body. As the liquids got closer, she noticed that the liquids were inside a tube that was placed on her chest. Staring down, she watched as the liquids finished traveling and entered her body via the large needle coming from her chest.

Immediately, Tenten felt her body weaken and her eyelids turn heavy. She felt her thoughts traveling everywhere, almost as if relieving her past memories. As her body became numb and her eyes closed, she thought of him…

* * *

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Flashback~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

His name was Akhiro, and he was also from Konoha. He joined Team Gai for a critical mission. Tsunade had given positive feedback about the man, and Lee was happy to have another person join the team. Tenten was happy too ,and Neji was indifferent.

The mission was to retrieve a gold orb from a dangerous man in a nearby village. Tsunade had given them limited information on why the gold orb was important, but the instructions were clear: bring it back in one piece to Konoha.

It was nighttime and the four ninjas had a long journey ahead of them. Tenten prepared her tent while the others prepared theirs.

"Need help?"

Looking up, Tenten met Akhiro's dark blue eyes. He was shirtless and wet. He must have come from the nearby lake.

"I'm actually almost-"

"Nonsense."

Grabbing the ropes from her hands, Akhiro finished setting up her tent. She noticed how occasionally, he would turn to her and give her a wink. She gave him a small mile back and then realized that someone was watching them.

Tenten turned her head and saw Neji sitting by a tree trunk. He was watching them closely and Tenten knew that he wasn't happy. The two had been dating for a couple of months and ever since then, the Hyuga prodigy had become even more protective of her.

"There!"

Tenten looked back and stood up. "Thanks Akhiro." She said politely before freezing on her spot once Akhiro touched her cheek with the back of his hand.

From the corner of her eyes, she saw that Neji was inches away from them and she quickly took a step back. Akhiro, noticing the Hyuga approaching him, turned to him and smirked.

Tenten noticed the tension and before she was able to say something to ensure that the two didn't beat each other up, Rock Lee appeared in front of all of them with a net filled with 7 fish.

"Dinner time!" Lee yelled while running towards the fire they had previously created.

Akhiro walked past them, but not before bumping his elbow into Neji. Despite the petty act, Tenten knew that Neji was better than that and gave him a reassuring smile. Neji looked back at her as his eyes became warmer.

"Let's go have dinner. We'll scout the area later."

Tenten nodded and blushed as his hand grabbed hers really quick, rubbing her palm with his thumb, before letting go and walking towards the others.

They had finished eating about an hour later. Lee used the time to talk about how Gai Sensei was teaching him another trick. Akhiro, amazed at the stories, continued asking Lee about the sensei.

As they kept talking, Tenten glanced at Neji as he stood up.

"We are going to scout the area."

Lee nodded and Tenten stood up, not wanting to look at Akhiro. Ever since he touched her face, she had started getting strange feelings in her stomach.

Tenten followed Neji around the wooded area for a while. After some time, she stopped thinking about where Neji was going and instead just followed him. She could still feel the sensation on her cheek from when Akhiro touched her and guilt hit her as she thought of Neji. While she was in love with Neji, and had been for a while, she couldn't help but see how attractive and muscular Akhiro was. There were also his eyes, which contained some sexuality.

Tenten gasped as she felt strong hands grab her forearms as she was pushed against a tree.

"You were distracted." He said calmly, looking straight into her eyes.

Though it would startle her sometimes, she enjoyed the moments when Neji would grab her.

"What were you thinking about?"

Tenten shook her head and one of his arms wrapped around her waist. In public, they would keep their distance in order to not draw attention. However in private, he would actually give her the attention she craved and it made her happy. Akhiro or not, her heart would always be with Neji.

"How my heart will always be with you." She replied, feeling her cheeks burn as he smirked.

Neji leaned down, closing the gap and meeting her lips with his.

After some time, the kiss had intensified and they had walked deeper into the forest, hand in hand. By the time they reached the lake, Tenten discarded her clothes and jumped inside. She undid her buns and allowed her hair to flow freely around her back. Neji sat on a log near the water, keeping his eyes on her.

Teasingly, Tenten sprinkled some water towards his direction and laughed as he narrowed his eyes angrily at her. Before she could even open her eyes again, she felt Neji grab her wrist and pull her out of the lake and onto his lap with her legs on both sides of his, her bare chest facing his. Although it wasn't the first time he had seen her nude, it was the first time she was nude and sitting on him, their faces close together. She wondered if tonight would be the night in which she surrendered her body to him. Part of her had been looking forward to this.

"N-Neji, what are yo-"

Tenten shrieked as Neji swiftly turned them around onto the ground with her on the bottom and him on top. She saw the look he had on his face and she knew that part of him was trying to control himself. Smiling, she grabbed his shirt and pulled him downwards towards her, meeting his lips with hers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ End of Flash back~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

* * *

It had been four days, almost five, since they had left Konoha. Neji, Gaara, and Shikamaru were in front of the group. Shikamaru had originally planned for both of them to stay behind, but seeing how determined they were to finding their significant others, he didn't bother on stopping them.

All the way in the back were Sasuke and Sakura. Sakura, still not one-hundred percent well, had started lagging behind. Sasuke had motioned the others to continue while he picked Sakura on to his back and continued behind the rest of them.

After a couple of more hours travelling, Shikamaru stopped and rose his right arm. The others stopped.

"It's getting dark, we should rest here. Based on the estimates, we're not too far…"

They made a small fire and gathered some food. They barely spoke, each of them in their own thoughts.

Sakura stared at the small bowl in her hands, her food still untouched. Sasuke noticed her hesitation and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Sakura, you need to eat."

"What if they're not alive?" she whispered to him, low enough so neither Gaara or Neji heard her.

Sasuke looked at her in the eyes as he brought the bowl of food closer to her face. "Then we'll avenge them."

"All of you, try to get some sleep. I will keep first watch. After me, it'll be Kiba." Shikamaru said, watching everyone become comfortable for the night.

Sasuke sat down with his back against a tree. Sakura sat next to him with her head on his shoulder. He placed an arm around her and rubbed her forearm as a cold breeze passed by. "Sleep. You will need your strength for tomorrow."

Once Shikamaru saw them take rest, he jumped upwards onto a tree and towards the spot Neji and Gaara were at. He saw that Neji had his Byakugan on as he spoke to the Kazekage next to him.

"Up ahead, I see a lot of trees knocked down and branches snapped…."

"How far from where we are now?" Gaara asked.

Neji's eyes narrowed. "About 64 kilometers."

"That could have been from the creatures." Shikamaru weighed in.

Neji nodded in agreement. "I also see people lying on the ground. But no signs of any beasts. We are close, but don't see any signs of a village."

"You both need to rest." Shikamaru quickly said. For the first time, he finally got their attention.

Nonetheless, the look both of them had given him made him realized their plan. "You two were going to go on your own and look for them."

Neither of them responded to him. Shikamaru could not deny the fact that both Neji and Gaara made a strong team. Regardless of their strengths though, they still needed backup. There was no telling what was ahead of them.

"Get some rest," Shikamaru repeated himself. "We will leave first thing in the morning."

Neji gave a nod and headed towards where they camped. Shikamaru watched him open the sleeping bag and rest. Finally, he got one of them to get rest. Now to convince the Kazekage….

"Ino would want you to rest. We need to be alert for tomorrow."

Gaara continued to stare at the direction they were going to head to tomorrow. Shikamaru saw the determination on his eyes.

"Gaara," Shikamaru said, and the Kazekage finally gave him his full attention. "Please rest, or else Ino will yell at me if you don't."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thank you for those who left me a review! Reviews are my motivation for continuing this story. I like to read what people think.

This story has been in my head for over a month and just a few weeks ago was when I decided to publish it. I am a huge fan of both GaaIno and NejTen. I've been reading a lot of fanfiction where female characters (mostly amongst Ino, Sakura, & TenTen) bash one another and for once, I wanted to write a story where five friends go through something terrible and are each other's support. The primary couples for this fic are of course GaaIno and NejTen. I am trying my best to do 50-50 for these 2 couples. The 3rd most mentioned couple for this fic will most likely be SasuSaku.

The inspiration for this story was of course the following shows: Stranger Things (Netflix), Dark (German show on Netflix), Big Little Lies (HBO), & Supernatural. These shows combined are what helped me get the inspiration for this story. I love the mystery, supernatural, paranormal genre.

Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

There was no denying that majority of the attacks took place right where they were standing. The smell of blood was intensifying, and there were bodies everywhere. Couple of the trees were on the ground, while others just had branches ripped off.

"This whole area was pitch black." Sakura said as she turned around.

Akamaru had been sniffing the area for about half an hour and Kiba watched silently. "Although it's foreign, Akamaru has picked up a strange smell. Definitely not something that we've dealt with before."

The dog sniffed even more as it walked away from the group, and then started to run. Kiba followed it for a few minutes and then stopped once he saw that Akamaru had jumped inside what looked like a small opening. Kiba followed, quickly getting on his knees and seeing a red piece of fabric. From the color of the fabric and distinct smell, Kiba knew who was here.

"Neji!"

The moment he was behind him, Kiba gave him the long strip of red fabric.

"Akamaru has sensed her here…And I believe this is part of her clothing."

A tight knot formed in Neji's stomach as he clenched the piece of fabric in his hand.

Akamaru barked again and Kiba looked back down. Although he had missed it at first, he was glad that Akamaru was there to call it out. Lying on top of a rock, barely visible due to the sun, was a long strand of blond hair. With two fingers, Kiba grabbed it and turned around. The strand was very long, and Kiba knew who had very long blond hair like that.

"They were both inside there." He mentioned and gulped before continuing, "There's also a lot of blood inside."

Gaara's face hardened as he stared at the long strand. He looked at the Hyuga standing next to him. Neji had his Byagukan on, frantically searching the area.

"I do not see them nearby."

"The way the fabric was cut… looks like it was cut in the shape of a long band-aid. And by seeing how there's more blood inside that area than out," Shikamaru said, pointing at the ground, "my guess is that they were inside this gap for a while. If my guess is right," Shikamaru continued as he gave Neji and Gaara a serious look, in which they both returned, "I would say Ino cut Tenten's slacks to make bandages. I have seen Ino cut pieces of fabric in similar fashion before. I can recognize the patterns. Considering the significant amount of blood on the rocks inside, I would say they are both injured. I am also going to guess that they were wearing their regular attire; and for Ino, that means a short skirt."

"That's right," Sakura chimed in, "Ino was wearing a purple skirt and Tenten her red pants."

Shikamaru nodded and continued speaking, "Kiba, how strong are their scents?"

Kiba leaned into the hole, taking a few sniffs. "About a day old…."

"If they are injured and it's been a day, then they must not be too far." Sasuke said, before turning towards Neji. "Are you sure you can't see nearby?"

Neji shook his head.

"Not unless they were taken…" Sakura said softly and all of them looked at her.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "By the monsters?"

"No, by the masked men."

Shikamaru looked back at the hole, studying it. Akamaru came out and began sniffing around until walking towards the deeper part of the forest.

"Why would they take-"

"To do the same thing they did with those three other kunoichis?" Sakura answered as she stared at Naruto.

There was a long pause around them, none of them sure what to say. Upon realizing that Akamaru was yards away from them, Kiba started running towards his companion as the others followed.

They followed Akamaru deeper into the woods, taking note of the damaged area and lifeless bodies lying on the ground. Akamaru barked louder and started running faster.

"The scent is getting stronger!" Kiba yelled as he noticed Neji and Gaara behind him.

After running for a couple of minutes, Akamaru stopped by an empty field and barked at the ground. Around them they noticed houses destroyed to the ground.

"I remember this," Sakura said, panting. "Everything was underground. There are multiple entries! There should be a door nearby!"

Before the others could look for an opening, Akamaru started digging fast. Kiba got on his knees and helped his dog with the digging.

"Something's in here!" Kiba yelled and Naruto started digging as well.

A few seconds later, they hit a door. Naruto grabbed the knob and started pulling. "It's locked! I can't open it!"

"Stand back."

Naruto looked up, stumbling back as a large fist made out of sand punched the door. The impact caused the ground to shake, and they stared at the ground with anticipation as the dust began to set. The sand quickly retracted back into Gaara's gourd. Seconds later, they saw the large opening and looked inside.

They immediately saw stairs leading to darkness, however a lot of the steps were broken.

"This is it," Sakura said. "This is where they are. There are tunnels everywhere, but their lab is at the bottom. It's a long way down…"

"Akamaru can still sense them ...Their scent leads to down there." Kiba pointed.

"Let's get going. Neji, can you see directly below? Can you check if there's anybody."

Stepping by the entrance, Neji looked down for a few seconds. "I see a laboratory at the most bottom level. I see movement inside, but it's too far down to see distinct faces."

Shikamaru nodded and stood up from his crouching position. "Those stairs don't look stable, and it's very dark inside. We'll need to be careful getting down."

The ninjas jumped inside one by one onto sturdy surfaces. Noticing her hesitation while she recalled her memories, Sasuke grabbed Sakura by her waist before being the last one to enter.

* * *

"The reactor is at 74%!" one of the men yelled.

Ino's eyes fluttered open as she began to regain consciousness. Her vision was blurry, and she felt extremely weak.

"80%!"

"This one seems to be awakening."

Ino felt fingers stroke her right cheek, and then she felt something cold by her stomach. The feeling made her body tremble, yet she was still unable to comprehend what was going on. Her throat was extremely dry.

"Ten…ten…"

"Who?"

"She's asking about the other girl." One of the masked men said before leaning down and taking off his mask. He kissed her forehead and then he corner of her lips. Ino groaned in disgust as she turned her head away from him.

"Don't worry, we're just strapping her up to the reactor." The man said as he continued to stroke her face. He then turned around and looked at the man next to him. "See if you can start the portal with just that one girl. Her blood traits are similar to one of theirs." He looked down at Ino and smirked. "I actually like this one. I want her to join me…"

The man next to him nodded and walked out of the room, barking orders to the rest of his crew to crank up the power to maximum. Ino's eyes widened as the man, now without a mask, trailed a finger between her breasts and down to her abdomen, causing her mind to regain full consciousness.

"Get of-"

Ino gasped as she felt something cold enter her body. Turning her head to the left, she saw a large needle in her forearm. There was a strange red liquid inside. The man chuckled as he grabbed a breathing mask and placed it over her nose and mouth. He then picked her up bridal style and carried her to a large plastic container filled with water.

"Now…now," he said, looking down at her once in a while, "I need to go check up on your friend."

He dropped her inside the container and pressed a button. The door of the container closed and Ino felt herself submerged in cold water.

"I'll be back for you, don't worry." The man said, smirking as he watched her eyes remain half open. She was trying to fight off the drowsiness.

The man turned around and walked towards the lab.

"How are we doing?"

"97%"

"Good." The man looked at Tenten's charts and smiled.

Tenten looked around the large lab area as the white-suited men walked around. She still had the same needles as before, but this time they were all connecting from her body to a black floating ball. Behind her was the entrance of the cave, the area in which she knew the blue light would appear from. The light which let the beasts out into her world.

"Alright, let's get started!" The man who had sedated Ino yelled and all of the sudden, the platform underneath Tenten's feet began to rise.

Tenten started panting, trying to wiggle her wrists out of the cold metal cuffs.

"We are at 100%, sir!"

"Then let's get it started in Three – Two -"

"STOP!"

The man turned around and raised an eyebrow at the blond haired ninja and the companions behind him. He smirked and shook his head, "One…".

Tenten let out a scream the moment lightning appeared around her. She felt something being extracted from her body.

"They are using her to re-open the portal!" Sakura yelled.

A blue light started appearing behind Tenten.

Wasting no time, Neji jumped onto the risen platform where Tenten was tied to. The blue light become larger and all of a sudden, one of the beasts entered.

"Control it!" the man in white yelled.

"What…is…that thing!?" Naruto yelled.

"No time to figure out." Shikamaru said. "Kiba, help Gaara find Ino. She's not up there with Tenten. I will help Neji get Tenten from up there. The rest of you, be careful with those things."

Five more creatures entered from the portal, one of them quickly attacking one of the men in white.

Neji's eyes narrowed in anger as he saw the condition Tenten was in. Her hair was wet and down, her body covered in bruises and needles and she was only in her undergarments. He saw her blood being extracted from her body and leading to a black floating sphere.

Quickly, he started taking the needles out. There were many and Tenten winced.

"N-Neji…"

"I will get you out of here. I am sorry, but this will hurt." He pulled out a large needle from her abdomen and she screamed.

"He thinks he can save her…" the leader laughed and then glanced at his partner. "Push it to 200%"

The man nodded and turned up the crank.

Tenten let out a high pitched scream as her blood was extracted from her even faster. Thirty more creatures came through the portal.

"There's still one more behind her neck!" yelled Shikamaru as he stood next to Neji.

"It's…it's somehow tied to her neck. I can't pull it out without severely injuring her." Neji said.

"Then break it. At least it will stop her from losing blood."

Neji nodded and with a kunai, began cutting the last piece of plastic tube that was leading towards her neck. Tenten gave Neji a sad smile as she felt her vision become blurry. She felt her body falling all of the sudden, which was weird to her considering how not too long ago she was tied up by all four limbs.

"I got you…" was all she heard before placing her head on strong familiar shoulders.

Down below, Naruto had used his Shadow Clone in order to help kill the creatures, which was not an easy task. The beasts started attacking everything upon a failed attempt at controlling them by the white-suited men. Naruto found it strange that the men were focusing more on trying to control the beasts than killing them.

The blue light started diminishing the moment Neji cut off the last tube that was attached to Tenten's body.

Akamaru led Gaara and Kiba to a large plastic tube. Both looked down and saw the blond kunoichi inside.

"Help the others. I will get her out."

Kiba nodded and ran off with Akamaru to join the fight.

Gaara looked back down at Ino as a large sharp object, made from his own sand, manifested into his right hand. With much force, he brought the object downwards, piercing a large whole hole onto the side of the plastic tube she was in. Water immediately started pouring out from the tank. Once again, Gaara used the same object and managed to break the top of the tube completely.

Ino felt a cold breeze brush up against her body as she felt that the water was now receding.

"Ino…"

Gaara stared down at her as she barely responded to him calling her. He noticed the pinch marks all over her body and the barely-healed wound on her stomach. Carefully, he placed his arm underneath her back and sat her up, water trickling down from her wet hair. Gaara pulled the breathing mask off from her face and then turned her head towards him. Her eyes opened half way for a second before shutting again. Placing his other hand beneath her legs, he lifted her up and carried her out.

"Let me cover her up with this."

Gaara turned around and saw Sakura running towards him with a pink sweater. The Kazekage sat Ino down in a sitting position with her back leaning against a wall. Sakura got on her knees and wrapped her in her pink sweater. She hated the fact that her best friend was unconscious and almost completely naked.

"They are heading in our direction." Sasuke said, standing next Gaara.

Four creatures began running towards them. Quickly, Sasuke jumped and used his Fire ball jutsu. The flame hit two of the creatures, burning them instantly. A terrible screeching noise came from them as they wiggled and rolled on the ground, trying to put out the flames burning their flesh.

The remaining two creatures had dodged the attack and ran faster towards the group. Gaara extended his arm and sand quickly wrapped around the them. Lifting his arm above his head, Gaara then made a fist and the sand around the two creatures contracted, crushing the creatures to death.

The rest of the team re-grouped, looking around as they noticed the dead creatures lying on the ground.

"Where did those guys go!?" Naruto yelled, his eyes were still red. His hands were covered in blood from the close impact he had with one of the beasts.

They all looked around and noticed that the white-suited men had disappeared.

"I don't see them anywhere." Neji said.

"We should get out of here. I am getting a bad feeling about this." Shakamaru said.

Sakura had finished healing Ino's stomach injury before feeling the ground underneath her shake violently. Naruto ran out from the lab and looked upward as rocks began falling down. "It's going to collapse on us!"

"I will get us out of here."

Everyone turned around as Gaara got on one knee and placed a hand on the ground. Quickly, a sand platform was created underneath their feet. He held on to Ino tightly as the sand underneath their feet rose from the ground. As they got closer to the entrance, their surroundings started to collapse even more. By the time Gaara got them out from underground, everything had collapsed, leaving no trace of what used to be there. The stairs that used to be there were now gone.

Neji laid Tenten by a tree, covering her body with his as much as possible for others not to see her near nude state. He heard footsteps behind him and turned, seeing Naruto standing behind him with his blue eyes closed and orange sweater in hand.

"Take it. She needs it more than me." Naruto said, extending his arms towards Neji while still keeping his eyes closed.

Nodding, Neji grabbed the piece of clothing and wrapped it around Tenten. Sakura walked towards them and placed her hand on Tenten's forehead.

"She lost a lot of blood. We need to get her to Tsunade immediately." Sakura said before turning back towards everyone else. "We need to get back to Konoha as soon as possible. Tenten lost too much blood. Ino is heavily sedated and dehydrated."

With Kiba and Shikamaru leading, the ninjas jumped on a tree branch and left.

As Sakura leaped from one tree to another, she noticed a white flash from the corner of her eyes. Gasping, she stopped and looked straight at it. Although she had caught the glimpse for a few seconds, there was no mistake that she had just seen one of the white-suited men standing behind a tree not too far away from them, watching them. Sweat rolled down the side of her head as she leaned closer on the branch, seeing if she could catch another glimpse of the figure.

"What is it, Sakura?"

Sakura's eyes narrowed as the wind blew. She continued leaning onto the branch but was then pulled back onto a hard chest. Shaking her head wildly, she looked up and saw Sasuke staring back down at her.

"What did you see?"

Sakura looked away from him and back to the spot where she had seen the figure. Her eyes widened as she noticed that the branch in which he was standing up was now gone. She looked downwards, making sure that it had not fallen, but found the ground to be clear with nothing but grass.

"I-I thought…..n-nothing."

Sasuke gave her a worried look. "Be in front of me."

Sakura nodded and followed everyone else, wondering if the figure was really there or if it was just her imagination.

* * *

_One week later..._

Tenten giggled as she watched Gai-sensei and Lee each do push-ups with one finger while writing 'feel better' letters to her with their free hands. In the past, she would have been embarrassed at such antics. But considering the hell she and Ino had been through, it was nice to have her teammates making her laugh.

"Done!" Gai-sensei yelled, giving a thumbs up to Tenten.

"What!?" Lee yelled as he jumped upwards, his letter still half finished. His eyes were as wide as saucers.

"What is the commotion now?" asked Neji as he entered Tenten's hospital room.

"I must run 1000 laps now!" proclaimed Lee as tears ran down his face.

He ran past Neji and out of the hospital.

Gai-sensei laughed and then walked towards Tenten. "Take as much time as you need to rest, Tenten." He said and Tenten nodded, smiling at him. The man was almost like a father figure to her.

Gai-sensei left, mumbling about needing to beat Kakashi in another race.

They finally had the room to themselves….

Tenten smiled as Neji sat on a chair next to her bed and grabbed her hand, staring down at her thin fingers. He could still see the marks on her arms from where the needles had once been there. He remembered Tsunade quickly setting up the room for an immediate blood transfusion. She had lost a lot of blood. Neji had explained to the hokage how her blood was used to open the portal. They were going to sacrifice her to allow more of those monsters to come through…

The thought angered him but he quickly blinked and looked up, seeing Tenten pull the hospital sheets away from her legs. Slowly, she turned towards Neji and placed her feet on the cold hospital floor. She placed her hands on the bed and taking a deep breath, started to stand up.

"TenTen-"

"I want to walk." She said, standing shakily on her legs.

Neji stood, watching her take a few steps before almost collapsing on the floor. He quickly grabbed her by the waist.

"You need to keep resting."

"No, I want to take a walk." She said, looking up at him. Neji looked unconvinced as his eyes narrowed. Sighing, she leaned in and gave him a long kiss on the lips. "Please," she said and smiled.

"Fine, but I will hold you." He said.

Tenten nodded as Neji stood behind her. He grabbed her forearms gently and helped her walk outside her hospital room. The hospital was quiet as it was almost evening time. In a way, she was glad that there weren't many people around. She was tired of being asked how she was doing.

Tenten noticed laughter coming from one of the rooms as she approached it. Peering her head inside, she saw Ino sitting up on her bed with her parents nearby. Ino noticed her standing by the corner and smiled widely.

"Tenten!" Ino said in excitement, pushing the covers away from her body and getting up from the bed.

"Ino, wait-" her father said, but it was too late.

Shakily, Ino approached Tenten and both girls embraced. Memories went through each of their minds as they remembered the ordeal. They remembered how they had helped each other survive. Tears rolled down their faces as they remembered how close they were to dying.

"For a second, I thought we were going to die." Ino whispered.

"But we didn't." Tenten said.

They separated and looked at each other, smiling. After a few seconds of silence, Ino giggled and fixed Tenten's hair, placing some strands behind her ear. "You look great with your hair down."

Tenten smiled at her, but then her eyes widened as Ino started leaning in to her. "I think she's losing strength!"

Inoichi grabbed his daughter and carried her back to the bed. "Tsunade said that she was heavily sedated with whatever they injected her with. She was able to extract some of it out, but it's still too much. Ino will need more time to recover."

Tenten looked sadly onto her comrade, watching as Ino's eyes closed.

"She was wondering about you." Inoichi said, looking at Tenten. "She told me everything you both went through. How you helped her."

"She helped me too." Tenten said. "Without her, I probably would have bled to death by a rock."

Inoichi smiled and looked back at his sleeping daughter. After some time, Tenten excused herself and walked out of Ino's room with Neji close by. They walked for another twenty minutes before reaching the hospital's garden. The area was new, something Tsunade had decided to add. It brought great peace to those who sat in it.

Neji sensed Tenten's slower pace and stopped her in her tracks.

"You need to rest now." Picking her up bridal style, he sat her down by a bench next to some roses. He then sat next to her and pulled her head onto his chest. Tenten closed her eyes and listened to his heartbeat, smiling as she felt his hand rub her arm slowly up and down.

She thought of the dates he had taken her on before. She remembered how the first date they went on was actually during the middle of a mission. It had been just the two of them during that mission, which had made it easier for them to go on a date in an expensive restaurant and not get caught by any friends or relatives. His relatives, that is. During that time, no one had known about their relationship. She also remembered the first time he slept over her place. She had been alone that night, as there were festivities going on that day in which villagers had attended with their family. Since she had no family, she stayed in her little apartment. After a couple of minutes of sharpening weapons and reading a book, she had heard a knock on the door and to her surprise, there had stood Neji Hyuga with some food.

Light footsteps caused her to open her eyes and lift her head up from Neji's chest. She looked at the figure approaching them and her eyes went wide, her cheeks turning red.

Hiashi Hyuga emerged from the shadows with a small wooden box in his hands.

Tenten felt nervous as she looked at him approach them. The main reason why their relationship was not public was due to the Hyuga clan. Hinata had actually explained to her the politics within the clan and how they had always preferred arrange marriages. One of the things Tenten always feared was having to break up with Neji for him to marry someone else. Nonetheless, Tenten was still surprised that Neji still had his arm protectively around her as his uncle casually walked towards them.

Neji stared calmly at his uncle as the older man sat on the bench in front of them. Hiashi gave a nod to his nephew before looking at Tenten and gaving her a small smile.

"Tenten, is that right?"

Tenten nodded nervously, unsure where he was going with this.

"Hinata told me what happened. How are you feeling?"

"M-much better, thank you for asking, sir."

Hiashi nodded and looked down at the wooden box. "I know you don't know me well, Tenten… But I would like to start getting to know you."

Sighing, he reached out and gave the box to her. Tenten looked at Hiashi surprisingly, and then at Neji. She was unsure of what to do, as this was the first time she had conversed with the man. Seeing a nod from Neji, Tenten grabbed the box and opened it.

"It's something that's gifted to every kunoichi in the Hyuga family." He said before getting up. "I hope to see you soon in the Hyuga compound, Tenten. I would like to hear more about you."

Tenten stared at him with wide eyes, watching him as he nodded towards Neji and then walked away. She looked back down and saw a silver necklace inside. She was afraid of touching it. She had never owned such expensive jewelry before.

"He's never met me before." Tenten said, looking back up at Neji with a questioning look. "Why would he give me this? I am not even part of the Hyuga family…"

Neji placed a kiss on the side of her head before whispering in her ear, "We will talk about it soon. For now, rest."

Tenten nodded and closed the box, wanting to keep the necklace as protected as possible.

* * *

Ino groaned as she finally made it to the bathroom. Even though the bathroom was only five steps away, it was the longest five steps she had ever taken. Opening the bathroom door, she flipped the lights on and frowned when she did not see the bag that her mom had supposedly brought for her with fresh new clothes. Shrugging, she discarded the hospital gown and turned the shower on. Once the water got to a temperature of her liking, she grabbed onto the towel rack and stepped inside.

Still holding on to the towel rack for balance, she smiled and grabbed the soap. Her body still had marks from where the needles were, and she shook the memories out of her head.

Instead, she thought about Gaara and wondered where he was. Ever since she had awakened, she had not seen him. Her best guess was that he was back in Suna, as he was needed there for his people. Temari, Kankuro and Shikamaru had left for Suna two days ago. However, she was not sure about Gaara. Chouji had told her how Gaara had been part of the rescue mission, even though Tsunade had been against it.

She had not remembered being rescued at all. However, she did remember the man stroking her face while she had been semi-conscious on the table. She remembered how he had kissed her, how he wanted to sacrifice only Tenten and keep her alive for other things. She had also remembered when they undressed her initially, before throwing her inside that tube. She recalled someone groping her and playing with her hair.

Ino groaned as she tried to forget the details, but her mind kept rushing to them. Tears began rolling down her face, hating herself for not being able to fight back.

Letting go of the towel rack, she placed her face in her hands and cried.

I'll be back for you, don't worry.

That's what he had told her. She remembered it clearly. Her body trembled as she remembered how he had touched her. Feeling low in energy again, Ino turned off the shower. She was starting to feel dizzy again, and remembered how Tsunade had told her that much of the sedative was still in her system.

Holding on to the towel rack, she started walking out of the bathroom, feeling her body become heavier. Her eyes fluttered as she tried her best to fight off the darkness. Ignoring the hospital gown on the floor, she reached by the bathroom door and held on to it, feeling her legs starting to tremble.

She heard the door of her room close and looking up, she felt her heart beat faster as the Kazekage walked in. He looked at her with the usual blank stares and she wondered what he was thinking. Despite the fact that they had been dating for over a year, she still had a hard time reading him. Looking down at the floor, realization hit her that she was fully naked and wet. Ino looked up at again and gasped as he was now standing in front of her.

"You should be resting." He said, grabbing her arms and pulling her towards him.

"I thought you went back to your village." She said weakly.

Gaara picked her up and placed her back on the bed. Ino quickly covered herself, feeling her cheeks heat up. For some reason, she felt shy being naked in front of him, even though he had seen everything already.

"No. Tsunade has been holding meetings with the other kages regarding what had happened."

Ino closed her eyes as she felt him gently push her shoulders back to the bed.

"Sleep. I will be here when you wake up."

Ino woke up a couple of hours later and stared at the white ceiling. Slowly, she began remembering where she was and everything that had happened in the past day. She looked at the corner of the room and noticed Gaara's gourd. Sitting up, she turned her head towards the sofa-bed and saw Gaara lying down. His eyes were closed and his arms were crossed against his chest, but Ino knew that the man didn't sleep. Smiling, she quietly got up and pulled the hospital sheets off the bed. Taking silent steps, she brought the covers towards the couch. She placed one leg over him and then climbed onto the couch.

Gaara opened his eyes and Ino giggled as she sat on him, straddling his hips. He gave her a slight smile before grabbing her forearms and pulling her downwards towards him. Resting her head on his chest, she pulled the covers over both of them and fell asleep.

* * *

Tenten closed her duffel bag as the nurse next to her finished writing something on a piece of paper.

"You will need to take these for another two weeks. They will help with the pain." The woman said, handing Tenten the subscription.

Tenten grabbed it and nodded.

"Any questions?"

Tenten shook her head and the nurse smiled, leaving the room.

"Are you ready?" Neji asked, grabbing her duffel bag and swinging it over his shoulder.

"Yes," Tenten replied, finally glad to be leaving. She did not like hospitals.

Neji stood close to her in case she needed support as the two exited the building. Tenten had wanted to check up on Ino before leaving, but then remembered Neji telling her that he had seen the Kazekage walking into Ino's room last night. Tenten didn't want to interrupt _that_.

"Tenten!"

Looking up, Tenten saw Inoichi and his wife waving at her.

"Tenten, you look like you're doing much better!"

"I am, thank you." She responded to Ino's mother.

The woman smiled back and then pointed at the bag she had in her hands. "I forgot to bring Ino her clothes yesterday. She should be getting discharged in another day."

Tenten nodded and then realized that Gaara was probably still in Ino's room. Tenten doubted that Ino had told her parents about the Kazekage…

* * *

Gaara opened his eyes the moment he felt her touch the tattoo on his forehead. He sat up straight and she adjusted on his lap, legs on either side of his as she faced him. He grabbed her by the hips and shifted her closer to him as she placed her lips on his. Their kiss intensified immediately and he gently rubbed her back, causing her to moan. It had been a long while since they've had this moment. Leaving Suna whenever he wanted wasn't simple, and she was in a lot of missions on the opposite direction. Long distance relationship wasn't easy….

"Good morning Ino- OH MY!"

Ino broke the kiss and stared back, laughing nervously as her parents stood there in shock. Her parents stood there by the door, eyes wide and mouth wide opened. Her mother had her extra clothes in hand.

Well, looks like it was about time that she told her parents about the Kazekage.

* * *

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	5. Chapter 5

Thank you all for the reviews.

* * *

The five kages, clan leaders, as well as other important councilman, sat in the large meeting room, watching as two ninjas, Naruto and Jiraiya walked inside. Tsunade greeted her former comrade as he sat down.

"We scouted the area for days, and found nothing."

Gasps filled the room as Jiraiya glanced over at Tsunade. Her eyebrows remained furrowed but she didn't say anything.

Gaara kept his gaze on the floor, his expression unchanged.

Jiraiya cleared his throat and continued, "The destruction that had been left behind…is gone. The dead bodies that were previously there had disappeared too. The area doesn't look like it had been destroyed by any creatures…."

"How is that possible?" one of the clan leaders asked. "After the return of the kunoichis, multiple shinobis have travelled and seen the destruction with their own eyes!"

"What about the underground tunnel? The lab? My daughter was taken there; who knows what they did to her there! They injected her with so many chemicals that she's still having trouble walking in a straight line!" Another clan leader asked.

Gaara turned his head towards the familiar voice. A few seats away from him, he saw Inoichi Yamanaka sitting with his fists on the table. Although Gaara kept quiet, he also worried about Ino's recovery. While she had improved, she still had trouble remaining still for a while without falling.

"We checked ...we dug as deep as possible ...we dug for miles in all directions…." Jiraiya said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "There was nothing but dirt. All signs of any activity that had taken place simply vanished."

There was a long pause in the room, no one sure what to say. Naruto looked down, himself wondering where everything could have gone to. He was certain that they had the right location. He remembered scouting the area with Jiraiya for days and finding nothing. Everything was cleared. Even the blood that had previously tainted the grass was gone.

"What now?" one of the other kages asked. "How do I protect my village if I don't even know these threats? How do I protect my people if I don't even know who I'm protecting them from? We don't know where they come from…..Or what their full intent is!"

"We need to unite more than ever to hunt these people down and understand what their ultimate motive is." Jiraiya suggested. "We may not know who they are, or where they come from ...but we do know one thing: they are good at disappearing and leaving no trace behind."

"We will need to start sending spies around the area… We need to start tracking any new village that arises." Tsunade said. "We need to know more about these people, and understand why they need to use female blood in order to summon these creatures."

* * *

Ino and Sakura took turns holding the expensive jewelry as Tenten explained to them how Hiashi had gifted her that. The three girls were in Ino's room, helping Ino pack for her journey soon.

"This must cost a fortune!" Sakura said, giving the necklace back to the bun-haired girl.

Grabbing it and placing it back in the box, Tenten nodded. "I am afraid of wearing it."

"What did he tell you when he gave it to you?" Ino asked, folding her undergarments and placing it at the very bottom of her suitcase.

"That it's something every kunoichi in the Hyuga family is gifted…and that he hopes to see me soon in their compound."

Ino and Sakura looked at each other, a large smile appearing on their faces as they let out a shriek. Tenten looked nervously at both of them.

"W-What?"

"Tenten, has Neji spoken to you about marriage?" Sakura asked. "Naruto has mentioned to me that Hinata's father has started having conversations regarding engagement plans for Hinata already. Hiashi has met Naruto several times now regarding their seriousness of the relationship before finalizing any wedding plans."

Tenten shook her head. "He has not. But it's too early for that! I still haven't done everything I wanted."

"Like what?" Ino asked, closing her suitcase.

Tenten hesitated with an answer, looking up at the ceiling as she tried to figure out an answer.

Sakura giggled. "She's not even engaged yet, and she's already getting cold feet."

"It's just too soon." Tenten said nervously.

"All done." Ino said, placing two suitcases by a corner.

"You never told us what your parents said regarding Gaara." Tenten said, quickly wanting to change the topic.

Ino's smile disappeared as she stared at her window. "They're not happy. Even though he's Kazekage, they're still worried that he could go back to how he used to be. Mother cried when I told her that Gaara wanted me in Suna for some time ...He wants to keep me close by as I heal."

The girls nodded and helped Ino bring her belongings out from her bedroom. Neji, Lee and Sasuke had been outside Ino's home, having a conversation with Naruto and Jiraiya regarding the earlier meeting with the kages. Not wanting to discuss more on the creatures and strange men, the group instead spoke out the latest news that has been going around Konoha: Shikamaru's marriage proposal to Temari. Ino couldn't wait to get to Suna and congratulate the both of them.

Tenten felt happy for the couple, and then thought about how soon she will have be in the same boat. But this was the Hyuga clan, and Tenten was nervous of being part of this family in any way. Even if Hiashi was OK with her, what would everyone else in the family think. She had no family, therefore she felt as if she could not bring any value to the already highly established clan.

"Leave this to me!" Rock Lee yelled, grabbing both of Ino's suitcases over his head and giving her a big bright smile. Turning around, Lee ran towards the gates of Konoha.

"I hope he doesn't drop them…." Ino said as she sighed.

"Do you need help walking?" Sakura asked.

Ino shook her head and gave her a smile. "No, I think I can do it…"

The group started walking towards the gate as they stared at Lee continue to run with Ino's belongings on his hands. As they walked, Tenten felt Neji staring at her from behind, and for once she became very nervous being around him. The thought of marriage and being part of the Hyuga clan scared her. While she loved Neji, she still needed time to think about what she wanted to do with her future. In addition, ever since the ordeal with those men using her blood to open up a portal, a part of her had gotten interested in finding out who her parents are. She remembered how one of the men in the lab had made a comment about how unique her blood was, and how he worked with similar type of blood in another location. Even though she had been semi-consciousness, she still remembered those words. Despite the circumstances, it gave her some hope that maybe someone somewhere knew who her real parents were.

Tenten felt Neji place his hand on her waist and pull her closer to him. She slowed down as he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "We will talk about it tonight. We don't have to rush if you are not ready."

* * *

Eight ninjas from Suna stood still and ready as the Kazekage walked towards them. They were ready to start their journey back to Suna. Gaara turned his head as he heard loud footsteps. Noticing a very enthusiastic Rock Lee running with 2 bags on his arms, the Kazekage stepped aside as Lee stopped right next to him.

"Right on time!" Lee yelled.

Before Gaara could ask where Ino was, Gai Sensei appeared from behind Lee, giving everything a thumbs up.

"Gai-sensei, what are you doing here?"

"Well Lee, the Hokage has asked me to come along as well, just in case something strange happens. Kakashi will be staying back in case of any attack. Besides," Gai said, shaking his head disapprovingly, "I think those suitcases were holding you back. You don't want to delay the trip now, do you?"

Lee gasped and shook his head. "No, Gai-sensei! I will run much faster!"

"Let's do one thing," Gai said calmly, placing one hand on Lee's shoulder. "Give me one bag…. We will race to Suna. We will test each other's speed!"

Lee nodded as tears started rolling down his face. "Yes Gai-sensei! And if I fail, I will do one-thousand laps! Now, when do we leave?"

Turning around, Lee stopped in his tracks as he noticed Gaara walking towards a direction. Turning his head confusingly as to where the Kazekage was heading to, Lee saw as Sasuke helped Ino sit down on a bench and Sakura quickly hand over the blond haired girl a bottle of water.

* * *

Ino handed the bottle of water back to her friend and sighed as her dizziness started to fade away. She had been fine for the past thirty minutes of walking before a sudden wave of dizziness hit her and she almost collapsed. Luckily, Tenten and Sakura were walking next to her so they were able to grab her before she had hit the ground. Sasuke had carried her towards the nearest bench and Sakura had given her some water, which helped with the dizziness.

Ino rubbed her forehead and groaned, ignoring the voices around her. For some reason, the voice of the man from the lab kept ringing in her head, telling her that he would see her again. Her mind replayed the memories again of him touching her face.

"Ino."

Opening her eyes and bringing her head up, Ino saw Gaara on one knee in front of her. For a moment she had to remember why he was there, and then realized that she was to travel to Suna with him. He wanted to keep her close.

"I'm worried that she may not be fit to travel." Sakura said.

Ino shook her head and gave them all a warm smile. "I-I think I'm better now. The water helped. I just needed a moment. Maybe I should be drinking more water."

Sakura nodded, yet deep in her mind she knew that Ino was suffering more than just dehydration. However, she wasn't sure how to prove it. Part of her knew that the threat still lingered in all of their minds.

As Ino stood on shaky legs, Gaara placed his arm lightly around her waist.

The group walked towards Lee and Gai, who each already had a suitcase on their heads and were ready to start their race. Ino warned them not to break her suitcase in the midst of their race. The thought of her personal items scattered all over made her face turn red.

"Gai-sensei, who will tell us who the winner is?!"

"Well Lee, the first person who gets to the Kazekage tower first will know who the winner is." Gai said, offering the younger man a bright smile.

The duo counted to three and immediately started their race, letting Gaara know that they will see them soon.

Tenten giggled and looked up at Neji. "Are you sure you don't want to join them?"

"No."

* * *

It had been almost three weeks since Ino had left to Suna.

Sakura laid out a couple of dresses on the bed as Tenten opened the letter Ino had sent them.

The five of them had promised to keep each other in touch as a way to help cope with what had happened.

To help Hinata forget about what had happened, Naruto had taken the shy kunoichi to a luxurious resort for two weeks, away from Konoha. The girl had written back a few days ago to them about how romantic the place was and how scared she was of taking things to the next level with Naruto. Sakura had written back to not think too much about the next level and to just enjoy herself.

Temari had written to them about how she had started planning her engagement party, which she wanted have in Konoha. She had also mentioned how Shikamaru and herself went on couple's retreat . Both of them had felt as if they needed time on their own to reflect on what had happened.

Ino's letter started out with how her journey to Suna went, which was worse than what she had anticipated. The first day of traveling went smoothly as she had eaten an energy bar right before leaping onto the first tree. The day after that though, her energy had drained completely and she had not been unable to even get up. One of Suna's escorts was a medic ninja and had explained to the Kazekage that this was the same side effects of the chemicals and until every single drop of the chemicals were extracted from her body, Ino would continue to have moments in which her body would not have enough strength. Therefore, for the remainder of her journey, Gaara had carried her to Suna. Ino had never felt so weak before, and it had angered her.

The first of a couple of days in Suna, according to Ino's letter, were very boring; and Temari and Shikamaru had not been there to keep her company. She had been so bored that she managed to befriend a stray cat and keep it as a pet, but the animal had ran away the moment it saw Gaara and she had not been able to find it ever since.

The final sentence in Ino's letter startled Sakura and Tenten. It mentioned how sometimes, Ino hears the voice of one of the men in her head, almost as if he's there with her, and she wasn't sure what to do.

Sakura and Tenten looked at each other nervously, and finally Sakura sighed. "I am going to write back to her. I….I have a theory of what's going on with her…."

Tenten looked at her curiously. "What's your theory?"

Looking at the five dresses lying on the bed, Sakura sighed and looked back at her friend. "I have a feeling that whatever chemical those men injected into her…it's causing her to hear that man's voice. I think he is somehow keeping tabs on her…. Similar to what Orichimaru did to Sasuke years ago."

"Like a tracker?"

"M-Maybe…but it's a theory. I was thinking of traveling to Suna with Sasuke to see her and do some specific tests. I want to test it out before letting Tsunade-sama and the Kazekage know."

"That could also explain why she wasn't used for the portal opening," Tenten commented. "They must have had a different plan for her."

Sakura nodded. "Exactly."

The two girls continued discussing the theory as Tenten tried on multiple of Sakura's dresses. Hiashi had invited Tenten to a dinner party at the Hyuga compound and since Tenten barely owned any dresses, Sakura had arrived to her apartment with every dress she had owned in her closet.

After selecting the perfect dress, Sakura helped Tenten with her hair. Since Tenten still had visible scars on the back of her neck from the large needle that had been attached there, Sakura left Tenten's hair down. Grabbing two long strands from the front of her head, Sakura twirled the strands in her fingers, making 2 curls, and pinned the curls behind Tenten's head with a silver hairpin. Once the hair was done, Tenten grabbed the necklace that Hiashi gifted her and Sakura helped her put it on.

Once they were done, Sakura walked Tenten to the Hyuga compound so Tenten didn't feel awkward walking around the village glammed up. Upon arriving, the girls departed and Tenten was allowed in. Hiashi or Neji clearly had spoken with the guards regarding her invitation.

She was led to the gardens by one of the servants and the moment she entered, everyone stopped socializing and stared at her. Tenten looked around frantically with her eyes as she searched for Neji.

"Would you like a drink?" asked a short man, who was clearly not a Hyuga but of course was dressed as a maid.

"N-No, I am good." Tenten responded, not wanting to mess with her lipstick. "B-But do you know where the restrooms are?"

The man nodded and motioned her to follow him. Tenten knew that at least she could hide in the bathroom until Neji arrived. The short man stopped next to a door and looked at her, pointing his hand towards the door.

Tenten thanked him and walked inside, letting a deep breath out as she closed the door. Luckily for her, the bathroom was private – all she had to do was lock herself inside for another half an hour until hopefully Neji showed up.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Tenten frowned as she noticed the minor needle marks that had been left on her arms. Lady Tsunade had recommended her a cream to use to get rid of the scars, and the cream worked, just not fast enough however. Tenten closed her eyes and sighed, wondering where Neji was and why he was taking so long.

Feeling the ground underneath her tremble a bit, Tenten opened her eyes and gasped, fear grasping her whole body, as she stared at the black shadow walk behind her, almost as if searching for something.

Quietly, Tenten walked towards a corner of the bathroom as she studied the creature. There was no denying that this was the same type of creature as before.

_How did it get here? I see no portal…I see no one else…_

The blind creature began sniffing as it slowly walked towards her. Tenten reached by her ankle and quietly pulled out a small knife, calculating as to when would be a good chance to kill it. Once it was in front of her, the creature stood on its back two legs and Tenten's eyes widened as she noticed how tall the creature actually was. As it stood on its two back legs, the creature leaned in and sniffed even louder, letting out a small growl as it knew that she was right there. Quickly, Tenten stabbed it on the side of its neck and ran towards the door as the creature stumbled back in pain.

She managed to unlock it and almost open it but all of the sudden, she felt something grab her by her waist and throw her hard on to the wall. Tenten let out a gasp as the back of her head hit the wall hard. Her body slid down towards the floor as her vision became blurry.

"Stay….stay…."

Tenten looked up and saw the figure of a man dressed in the white suit pat the creature before walking towards her with a large syringe. Her eyes narrowed and her vision became clearer as she noticed that this time, the man didn't have a mask on.

"You shouldn't have attacked it, it really wasn't going to hurt you." He said as he knelt in front of her. "We were just tracking you. It took a while to perfect the technology, but we were finally able to track you. You know your blood is very special, right?"

Tenten wasn't sure what to say, her head was hurting and she knew she was bleeding.

The man grabbed her arm and injected the syringe on to her shoulder, immediately extracting blood. Tenten let out a scream as the man stared at the blood filling into the tube of the syringe.

"I guess you don't know anything about yourself. Let me give you a clue – you're not from here. Your people don't originate from here."

Tenten stared at him in shock, unsure what to say. Her mind quickly thought about the times she had asked people around regarding her parents, but no one had been able to answer. Truth be told, no one knew where she came from.

Tenten opened her mouth slightly, ready to start asking questions but then her attention went to the door as Neji and Hiashi were standing there, Byakugan on.

The man groaned and the creature immediately ran towards both Hyugas. One of the guards jumped in and used a fire-type jutsu to light the creature on fire. A terrible noise came from the creature as it stumbled back.

The man beside Tenten got up and pulled out a device, quickly punching in some numbers; but before he was able to finish, his head hit the wall with much force as Neji punched him and grabbed the device from his hand. The man stumbled onto the floor as he split blood onto the floor.

"You don't know what you're messing with, boy." He growled, wiping blood from his nose.

"Tie him up and send him to Lady Tsunade immediately!" Hiashi commanded.

More guards came in and tied the man. They pulled him up on his feet and dragged him towards the door.

Turning his head back and staring at Tenten, he laughed as Neji knelt beside her. "You think you can protect her? Her blood is rich! We haven't seen one of her kind in years! They'll be back for more of her! You can't stop us all, boy!"

Neji glared at him, watching as the man continued rambling and laughing.

"How is she doing?" Hiashi asked, watching as Neji touched the back of Tenten's head.

"She hit her head hard, but I don't see anything major broken."

"N-Neji…"

Neji picked her up bridal style and led her out of the bathroom, quickly rushing towards the medic within the Hyuga compounds.

"N-Neji…."

"I'm here, Tenten. I won't leave you alone."

"…I think Ino may be in trouble…."

Neji looked down at her worryingly as he passed by some of the party-goers, who all stood in shock as some of the guards brought out the dead body of the creature.

"Please Neji…"

"I will get in touch with the Kazekage as soon as I can."

Tenten nodded as darkness hit her and she slumped on Neji's arms.

* * *

Author Notes: What do you guys think? Should I keep going? Please leave a review!


	6. Chapter 6

Ino sighed as she reached a dead end and turned back around. Since she had been bored inside Gaara's room, she had decided to go out and search for the cat, _again_.

The first time she had left the room to find the cat, Gaara had caught her outside and had one of his guards take her back up to the apartment. The second time she had snuck out of their apartment, Gaara had been standing right outside the door, and she had no choice but to walk back inside. To this day, she always wondered how he knew that she would try to sneak out. The third time she had snuck out, she had decided to sneak out from the window. She had jumped from ledge, sure with herself that she would be able to land safely; but instead of landing on the ground, a large ball of sand had caught her instead. Caught again…

Despite the fact that Gaara had told her not to leave the apartment, Ino continued sneaking out in hopes of finding the cat. She knew why he did not want her going outside on her own; he was afraid that she would collapse on the ground and he wouldn't be there to tend to her.

"Meow…"

Ino stopped as she turned around and saw bright yellow eyes staring back at her. Smiling, she walked over to the animal and picked it up.

"There you are! I've been looking for you for days! I haven't even given you a name yet…" she said as she began stroking the cat's head.

The cat closed its eyes and began to purr.

"Let's go back home," Ino said with the cat still purring in her arms. "I know Gaara can be scary looking. Trust me, he scares me too sometimes. But he's a nice guy, so no need to run away again."

* * *

"We have sent our fastest messenger to Suna." Tsunade said as she stared at the burned body of the creature. "How's Tenten doing?"

"She has a concussion, but she will be fine. Neji has been staying by her side ever since." Sakura answered.

Jiraiya and Kakashi studied the dead creature as Sakura and Tsunade continued speaking.

"They also found a syringe filled with blood. Tenten's blood." Sakura said.

"They need more of her blood? What's so special about her blood?" Tsunade wondered.

Sakura shrugged her shoulders and gave her the syringe. "I don't know, but it doesn't hurt to start analyzing it for ourselves. Maybe it'll give us a clue about what they want."

* * *

Ino leaned her head against the edge of the tub as she twirled her necklace around, laughing as the cat tried to get it while being careful not to fall inside the water. Teasingly, Ino sprinkled some water on to the cat and giggled as the animal stared at her and meowed.

"I should get out and start getting ready. Gaara should be coming soon and I don't want you running away."

Ino got out of the tub and wrapped her body around a towel. The cat continued to meow at her as she combed her hair.

"You must be hungry! I'll see if I can get you some milk…"

Walking out of the bathroom in a small white towel, Ino closed the curtains to the bedroom. No need for Suna to see what was only meant for Gaara's eyes.

"You look more beautiful than before."

Gasping, Ino turned around and stared at the man standing just a few feet away from her. It was _him_ again. The man whose voice she would sometimes hear in her head.

"I've been with many women in my life, and I've lived a long life. But your beauty….it just caught my attention the moment I saw you."

"Get away from me," Ino warned. "You don't know what I am capable of."

The man laughed, moving to one side as he looked around the room and Ino noticed something hanging by his side.

_Is that a whip?_

"Sweetheart, I am not here to hurt you. I actually want to do the opposite. I want to _protect_ you."

"I don't need your protection. I don't need your affection." Ino said, leaning back against the curtain, relieved to notice that the window was still open. She had a way to escape.

"Don't push me away. I can still protect you while there's a chance. Tell me, what is your name, beautiful?"

"None of your business."

The man chuckled, shaking his head. "I don't like to be talked back to, ya' know?"

Before Ino could ask, the man launched his whip and slapped her across the face. Groaning, Ino fell on her knees as a sharp pain was felt on her right cheek. She immediately felt a long line of swollen skin form.

"I hate hitting women," the man said, "women are precious. They should be cared and loved for. They are the ones who bear our children."

Walking towards Ino, the man knelt down and grabbed her by the chin, lifting her head up. He looked at her bruised cheek and shook his head in disappointment.

"You see what you made me do?"

Ino didn't say anything but instead looked at the cat behind him. The cat had her necklace in its mouth and she closed her eyes.

_Kitty, please get Gaara…._

"Don't close those beautiful eyes on me, darling. Look at me."

Ino lost concentration as she felt the man grab her face with one hand, pulling her closer to him. Ino took another glance at the cat and noticed that it was walking towards the bathroom while taking glances back at her. She remembered that the bathroom window was still open, and it was the only way for it to get out and get Gaara. It must have heard her then. Making sure, Ino closed her eyes one more time and concentrated.

_Please get Gaara! _

"Did you not hear what I said!?" the man said louder, his eyes narrowing in anger.

"No." Ino said as she quickly stood and kicked him in the face.

The man stumbled back but stopped himself from falling. Grabbing the whip, he launched towards her but Ino quickly dodged.

"You don't know what I am capable of, beautiful."

"I don't care," Ino said as she saw the curtain move slightly due to the breeze. Holding her towel tightly around her body, Ino jumped onto the edge of the window and jumped out.

The man laughed as he shook his head in amusement. "She likes to play. Well, so do I…."

* * *

"Tenten, stay." Neji said, grabbing the girl by her forearms and sitting her back down onto the bed.

Tenten shook her head. "I need to go. I need to find these people. They know something about me. Something regarding my blood. Something about me not being from here."

"You need to rest." Neji said, his voice more stern.

But this did not deter Tenten. Instead, she stood up and looked at him with determination. "I have no family. No last name. For years, no one has been to tell me who I am or where I came from. All I know is that one day, I just showed up in an orphanage. I need more than that…. And these people _know_ more."

Cupping her cheeks in his hands, Neji bent his head and gave her a long kiss. He felt Tenten's body relax and he pulled her closer to him. After a couple of minutes, Neji pulled back and stared at her.

"Do you forget that soon, _I_ will be your family?"

Tenten's eyes widened as she remembered the gift Hiashi had given her and why he had given it to her. Deep down, she knew that Neji was approaching the age of marriage.

"But I will still help you find more information about your background…_after_ you rest."

Tenten nodded and she suddenly felt pressure by her chest. Looking down, she saw Neji's hand there and a blue light emitting from it.

"Sleep," he said, watching as her eyes closed. "I will be here."

Picking her up, he carried her back to the bed. As he covered her with the sheet, he heard the door behind him open and closed.

"Hinata is back, but I have yet to tell her what happened." Hiashi said, and Neji knew why his uncle was holding back the information. His cousin was badly shaken from everything. Knowing what had happened to Tenten would cause her to have another anxiety attack.

"How is she doing?"

"She's doing better…."

"Why her blood?"

Neji stayed silent, wondering the same thing himself. He recalled what the man had told him earlier today, that more would be coming for her. He knew that she should no longer stay alone in her apartment. She would have to stay with him, in the Hyuga compound. However, in order to do so, he would have to marry Tenten as soon as possible.

"You should get some rest. I will stay here and watch over her until you come back."

Neji hesitated as he looked down at the sleeping Tenten. Sighing, Hiashi placed a hand on his nephew's shoulder.

"Neji, go eat something and sleep. I will stay here and watch over her. There are extra guards around the area."

Nodding, Neji stood up and walked towards the door. He opened it but stopped briefly before exiting, looking back at his uncle. "Get me if she wakes up."

* * *

Gaara stared at the council members passively as they disagreed amongst each other regarding several policies. Gaara was used to them disagreeing and arguing amongst each other. For about an hour at the end of their long meetings, the council members would argue with one another and Gaara would watch silently. After about an hour of them going back and forth, they would turn their heads towards their Kazekage for final say.

Today was one of those days and if Gaara was right, they had another ten minutes of arguing before turning their attention to him for final say. Looking upwards at the ceiling, Gaara wondered what Ino was doing and if she was staying out of trouble. She had a habit of sneaking out, even after the stern warnings he had given her before.

"Wh-What is that doing in here?!"

Gaara lowered his gaze towards one of the councilmen and noticed a cat purring next to him. The man shooed the cat away, giving it a disgusted look.

"Someone please take this thing back outside!" another man yelled.

Gaara stared at the cat curiously as it approached him. The Kazekage then realized that this was the same cat that had ran away upon first glance at him. It was the cat Ino had been looking for, for over a week now. Strangely enough, it was approaching him steadily without fear and Gaara noticed something hanging from its mouth.

"Someone please get that cat away from the Kazekage. Who knows from what sewer it came from!"

Gaara watched the cat stop in front of him and then spit out the object that had been in its mouth. Ino's necklace. Gaara's eyes narrowed and the cat meowed, tapping Gaara's hand with its paw, as if trying to tell him something. Something within Gaara knew what the cat was trying to do, and he stood up quickly.

_Ino's in danger…._

"Kazekage-sama, where are you going?"

Within a flash, Gaara left the meeting room and headed towards the apartment.

* * *

"You never gave me your name." The man said as he calmly walked through an area that was filled with nothing but sand and cactuses. "I see you like to play."

Ino had lured him away from the village and onto the deeper section of the desert. She wasn't sure what he was capable of, and the last thing she wanted was this pervert stalking other young women. Luckily for her, no one had seen her run through the streets with just her towel on.

"There you are!"

Ino gasped as he grabbed a chunk of her hair and pulled her backwards. He smirked as her towel lifted upwards and gave him a view of more skin. Seeing that he was busy staring at her, Ino raised her foot and kicked him in the crotch.

The man stumbled back and knelt in pain, gasping for air. Ino took the opportunity to get up and run. She re-tightened her towel and hid behind a large rock, panting.

"That was a low blow…." Ino heard him say and she rolled her eyes.

"I know you're behind one of these rocks. There's nothing but cactuses, sand, and rocks here."

Ino looked around her and noticed that the rock she was hiding by was the biggest one, thus being the one to grab his attention the most.

Quickly, Ino got up and started running but felt something wrap around her ankle and drag her back.

"Do you seriously think you can run away from me?!" He asked, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her up to her feet.

He turned her around and smiled warmly. "You're covered in sand."

As he started to brush the sand from her shoulders, Ino took the opportunity to punch him but this time, he caught her fist and shook his head in disappointment.

"Why are you so violent? I think I need to teach you a lesson."

Grabbing her by her hair, he pulled her down and began dragging her through the sand. Taking metal cuffs out and cuffing her hands, he threw her on to a large cactus with her back towards him. Ino screamed as she felt the cactus pinch her face, chest and arms. She then felt his strong hand on her shoulder as he pushed her downwards on to her knees. Ino whimpered as this caused more scratches on her body from the cactus.

"I always try to be gentle…" he said calmly.

Ino looked confusingly at the sky as she felt his hand come around her and undo the knot on her towel. As she sat on her legs, in a praying-like posture, she felt the towel land by her feet. The towel covered her bottom, but her whole back as exposed to him. The man then grabbed her hair and placed it over her left shoulder. Ino looked down as he stood up and walked a few feet away from her.

There was a moment of silence and then suddenly Ino screamed as she felt his whip hit her back hard. She tried to wiggle in pain but couldn't as she was pinched more by the cactus.

"You see darling, I hate doing this. You're so precious and all I want to do is take care of you. Now tell me, what is your name?"

"No!"

Another whip against her back and Ino screamed even louder.

"Why do you make this so difficult? Do you not feel the same way for me as I do for you?"

Ino wanted to laugh at him. Here he was, beating her and claiming to have feelings for her. Her thoughts were interrupted as she felt another sharp pain as he whipped her again.

"Answer me! …. Or is there someone else?"

He saw her stiffen momentarily and he chuckled. "So there is somebody else. Who is he? Is it the red-head that saved you?". He saw her stiffen again and shook his head. "It_ is_ that boy. I saw him destroy a couple of those creatures with sand. I didn't like that. Tell me, sweetheart, do you love him?"

"Yes!" Ino answered angrily. "And soon, he will c-come…and k-kill y-"

Ino screamed as he whipped her repeatedly five more times.

"Do you think he can protect you? I can protect you!"

"Go to hell-AGH!"

Tears rolled down her face as she felt another whip. This time, blood rolled down her back. She heard his footsteps on the sand. The man grabbed his whip and wrapped it around her neck. Ino gasped as he pulled her back and began choking her.

"You sure you love hi-?"

Before he could finish, the man felt sand wrap around his neck and throw him away from the injured Ino. Gaara jumped from the floating sand platform and next to her. Kneeling down, he grabbed a kunai and began cutting the cuffs from the chain in the middle. His eyes furrowed as he noticed the large bruises on her back.

"I'm here, Ino." He said. Gently, he grabbed one of her arms and pulled it away from the cactus. As she winced, he grabbed the other arm and did the same, finally freeing her from the cactus.

"You are one lucky man,"

Gaara turned his head towards the man, watching as he stumbled to get up. The man's arm was bent in a strange position, and Gaara could see blood accumulated near it.

"I've-I've been to different worlds ...and she's the most beautiful woman I have seen so far." The man then grabbed something from his pocket and began putting in something into it. "Looks like my time is up here. But-" he then continued, pointing at both of them.

"I will be back for her. And when I do, I'm going to take her with me!"

A blue light began to emit from behind and he took one step inside. "But before I do take her, I'm going to do unimaginable things to her…things a man can do…and right in front of you!"

The man laughed as he jumped inside the portal and closed it, leaving an angry Gaara behind.

* * *

**Author's note**: And here concludes chapter 6! I decided to update during the middle of the week since in 2 weeks, my availability in FanFiction will decrease...by a lot...and I don't want to leave any stories unfinished, especially this one. Please let me know what you think! What questions do you guys have out there? What did you like most about this chapter? What did you dislike about this chapter?

Something else I want to mention, but the age range of everyone (aka Ino, Tenten, Neji, Gaara, Temari, etc...) is 17 - 19. Tsunade is of course Hokage.

Please leave a review! They encourage me to keep writing.


	7. Chapter 7

Hinata knew that she was going to be in trouble. She looked around nervously, hoping that neither Neji or Naruto had followed them. Looking around and confirming, she followed a determined Tenten down a dark alley.

"H-How much longer?" she asked, watching as Tenten looked around the door numbers.

"It should be around here." Tenten said, looking at the number on the piece of paper in her hand.

"What if she moved?"

Tenten shook her head. "I doubt it. She loves her little apartment. Always talked about it since I was little."

Hinata nodded and turned around. She knew that by now, Neji had probably realized that Tenten was missing.

It had all started when she went to see how Tenten was doing. Upon opening the door, she had caught her friend trying to escape from the window and instead of stopping her or calling Neji, Hinata instead joined her on her small mission of finding the head mistress of the orphanage in which Tenten was raised in.

"I think it's this one," Tenten said and she softly knocked.

After a couple of seconds, the girls heard feet shuffling before the door slowly opened. The old woman, who appeared to be well into her nineties, looked up at Tenten.

"It's about time you came to see me, Tenten."

* * *

Ino winced as the medic ninja continued healing her back. She sat in a large room in one of Suna's hospitals with a large sheet draped over her shoulders. She still had sand all over her body and hair. Gaara stood by a corner with his arms crossed in front of his chest, watching her.

The stare he was giving her made her feel uncomfortable; not because she wasn't used to it, but because she knew that he was thinking about what the man had said.

Before dating the Kazekage, Ino had flirted with a couple of men. Nothing ever went too far with them, but she had enjoyed the attention and gifts they gave her. However, the moment word began spreading about her and the Kazekage, those same men avoided her. She knew that there was no point in Gaara being jealous.

Now though, she worried that Gaara was jealous and was unable to register the feeling. The man wasn't talkative and barely showed any emotions. She had been able to help him understand some of the other feelings, especially sexual feelings as he had no experience. But one feeling she hadn't been able to explain to him was jealousy.

While bringing her to the hospital, he had asked her if the man had touched her. She knew what type of touching he was referring to. She had answered him no and had felt his body become less tense. Despite the fact that they had been together for over two years and he had seen her fully naked, sex was something that they still have not done. She couldn't imagine the hurt he would feel if someone else had taken advantage of her and took away her virginity. The thought made her feel hurt as well.

"All done," the female medic said.

Ino sat up straight and sighed as her she felt her back finally become better. She got off the bed and thanked the medic before walking towards the bathroom. She had to get the sand off of her hair and body.

* * *

The older woman walked towards her small dining table and placed a cup of tea in front of her guests. She then sat down and looked at both of them.

Tenten took a sip of her tea and looked at her. "What do you know about me?"

The woman sighed as she stared at the small cup in her fragile hands. "I know a lot, yet I don't know much."

The woman sighed as she stared at the small cup in her fragile hands. "I know a lot, yet I don't know much."

Tenten gave her a confused look as the older woman continued speaking. "Most kids are dropped off at the orphanage's doorsteps when parents don't want them. If not that, then some Shinobi finds them abandoned around this village. But not you," the woman said, pointing at Tenten. "Someone actually appeared in my apartment with you in her hands. She was wearing very strange clothing, and she looked like she was escaping from something…or someone."

"What did she look like? Did she look like me?" Tenten asked.

The woman shook her head and Hinata noticed how Tenten's shoulders slumped in disappointment.

"She had red hair, and bright green eyes. I had even asked her if she was the child's mother… your mother, and she said no."

"Did she give you a name?"

"Not even, child. I had asked her who she was and where she came from, but she said that she couldn't provide such information. Only that she wasn't part of this world. She placed you in my arms and told me to take care of you. Before I could even ask anything else, this blue light appeared and she was gone. Ever since that day, I had not seen her ever again."

"Why didn't you tell me about this before?" Tenten asked, almost angrily.

The woman lowered her head and closed her eyes. "What was I supposed to say, child? That a strange woman, wearing strange clothing that no one in Konoha has ever seen or created, appeared in my apartment and gave me to you and then walked through a light and disappeared? And the woman had no resemblance of you. It was much easier to just say that you were dropped off by the steps of the orphanage."

Tenten leaned back on the chair as she thought the information through. "How did you know I was coming? I had asked you before about my past, and all you said was that you didn't know. But now, I am hearing something different."

The woman looked up at her as she responded. "Lady Tsunade stopped by yesterday, a couple of hours after you were attacked. She had also mentioned something about a blue light…. That's when I knew that it was about time that I opened up about what I had seen seventeen years ago."

* * *

Ino turned off the shower and rinsed her hair, smiling as she no longer felt sand on her. Grabbing a clean towel, she dried herself and stepped out, stopping in front of the mirror. She still saw the minor scar on her cheek from where he had whipped her. She would need to apply some type of scar remover there. Throughout her life, she always avoided having scars on her face.

Tying the towel around her chest, she opened the door and walked out, quickly searching for Gaara. To her surprise, he was still standing there with his arms crossed and eyes on her. Feeling nervous, she walked towards him as she tried to guess how he was feeling. By the way he was looking at her, she wondered if he was angry at her.

She gave him a smile and placed her hand on his arm. "Where's the cat?" she asked, trying to enlighten the mood a bit.

"In my office." He replied, his stare become less intense.

Ino rubbed his arm and leaned her head on his shoulder, hoping that the gesture would make him feel better. She hoped that he would open up to her.

"I hope this means that we get to keep it."

Gaara didn't respond to her, yet continued to look down at her. Ino sighed, knowing now that she had to try a different technique in order for him to open up. She grabbed his wrists and un-crossed his arms from his chest, allowing herself to step closer to him and give him a hug. Ino placed her head on to his chest and closed her eyes, waiting for his arms to wrap around her frame; however when she noticed that he just stood still and wasn't hugging her back, she groaned and hugged him tighter.

"Talk to me, Gaara. What's going on?"

After a few seconds of silence, she felt the Kazekage move a little before placing an arm around her waist.

"He desires you."

_He's jealous…_Ino thought. This was the first time she had seen him become jealous, and although she wouldn't dare say this out loud, she liked seeing him jealous. Not because it hurt him, but because in a way, it proved to her that he loved her and did not want anyone else wanting her. A jealous Gaara did turn her on.

"He's a sick man. He hurt me. His men hurt Tenten. He may desire me, but I despise him."

Gaara grabbed a strand of her hair covering her face and placed it behind her ear.

"He will come back for you." Gaara said.

"And when he does, we'll be ready for him."

Gaara remained silent as Ino walked towards the extra pair of clothes that Matsuri had brought over for her. After ensuring that the door was locked, Ino dropped the towel by her feet and remained still. Although she found it adorable that he was jealous, she couldn't deny the worry she had for herself. She herself _could_ have been raped by that man.

Waiting for the right one was something Ino never really believed in until the relationship she had with Gaara started. The boys she had dated previously were average and she didn't really care much about them. But when Gaara came into her life, it's wasn't just about him learning about love. It hit her how precious her virginity was and how she wanted to give it to no one else but him. To her, dating him had also made her a better person.

Ino's body trembled as she felt him stand right behind her. He had a habit of sneaking up on her. Turning around, she looked up at him and started to undo the buttons on his collar. Her face flushed as he stared down at her. His hand grabbed her wrist as she began to undo the straps by his armor.

"What are you doing?"

"You know what I'm trying to do." She responded, trembling hands traveling to the belt by his pants.

"I thought you wanted to wait."

"Not anymore," she said, trying to find her next words. "I…I don't want anything…_anyone_…getting between us…."

Gaara grabbed her shoulders and gently pushed her down on the hospital bed. He then climbed on top of her and rubbed her cheek with his thumb. "I want to hear you say what you want," he said, his voice low.

"I…I want you to do it…"

"Do what?"

_He's trying to tease me…_

"Take me…now…Gaara." Ino said, removing his dark red jacket and throwing it on the floor. "I'm scared of him coming back and taking what belongs to you."

He leaned down and kissed the side of her face before whispering in her ear. "I won't let him get near you."

Ino trembled as he continued to kiss her neck. She wasn't sure if he was ready, so in a daring move, she placed a kiss on his shoulder and her hand on his chest. Her body arched towards his, a gasp escaping her mouth, as he began to nibble her neck. He grabbed her hand away from his chest and pinned it over her head, lifting his head up and staring down at her with an intense look.

"There's no stopping from here," he said, getting a smirk from her in response.

Tenten woke up as she felt a loud thump on the floor. Opening her eyes, she looked down and saw that the book that was previously on her lap had slipped and fallen on to the floor. Groaning, she pushed her upper body from the wall and reached to grab the now closed book.

"There you are."

Looking up, she saw a not-so-pleased looking Neji walking towards her. She wasn't surprised that he was going to be angry with her. After waking up in the Hyuga household, she had Hinata lead her out of the complicated compound and accompany her to see the head mistress of the orphanage Tenten grew up in. The elderly woman had provided more information about her past, but for Tenten, that wasn't enough. After departing from the woman's house, Hinata had gone back to the Hyuga compound and Tenten had walked towards the oldest library in Konoha. For the past twelve hours, she had read several scrolls and books on missing shinobis who've never been found as well as mysterious events that have happened in the past thirty years. She had sat on the floor and read for hours until sleep had taken over.

Neji looked down at her, taking in the multiple books and scrolls lying around her.

"Why did you leave?" he asked, and Tenten heard the disappointment in his voice.

"Hinata told you I was here?" Tenten asked lowly, watching as he confirmed her suspicion. She knew that it wouldn't take much to get the truth out of Hinata. She wasn't the best at keeping secrets.

"What are you reading?" Neji asked, picking up one of the scrolls.

"Mysterious ...unsolved….cases…" Tenten said slowly, watching him with curiosity as he read through the scroll in his hand.

Neji didn't say anything for a while. She hated the silence that fell upon them as she wasn't sure if Neji was mad at her for leaving. She had been afraid that if she had told him of her intentions, he would have stopped her.

"Why?" Neji asked, this time looking at her.

Tenten knew that she couldn't keep the truth from him; one way or another, he would find out. "I went to see the head of the orphanage..." Tenten stopped speaking momentarily as Neji walked closer to her and then knelt on one knee in front of her. She knew what he was doing. This was his way of intimidating her and making sure that she felt nervous enough to not lie.

"I asked her about where I came from ...how I showed up. And what she said was...interesting." Tenten stared at those milky white eyes as she continued. "She told me that a woman had showed up _inside_ her home with me. That she disappeared by some blue light."

Neji stayed silent, watching her with speculation. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed his hand and placed it on her lap. "Neji, I need to speak with that man. He knows something….about-"

"No."

Tenten's eyes widened as she was taken aback by his quick response.

"Wh-Why not?"

"He's dangerous. We don't know who we're dealing with."

"Yes….b-but he can tell me what this blue light means! A-And what's in my blood th-that-"

"No, Tenten. And that's the end of it."

Tenten looked at him in shock, confused and angry at his unwillingness to help her.

"It is my right to know where I come from." she said confidently, even though her voice shook.

Neji's eyes narrowed, his tone louder now. "He is dangerous, Tenten, and he can lie to you to deceive you."

"I will be care-"

"You are acting on impulse-"

Both of them stood up at the same moment, Tenten feeling angrier. "You can't stop me from finding out about who I am, Neji. I deserve to know."

Neji stepped closer to her, cornering her by the wall behind her and he extended his arm, hand resting on the side of her head.

"You are going to get hurt."

"I can protect myself." Tenten said, quickly side stepping and running out of the building.

* * *

**Author's Note:** What do you guys think? Yay or nay? Still confused? If you are, good. :)

Anyway, I want to provide some answers to a few select reviews I have received so far.

** Imagifictions** \- Thank you for the review! My fav Naruto couple is NejTen, but GaaIno have always interested me for years. Them being so opposite is what probably makes them seem like a better match. In my opinion, SaiIno pairing is strange, as I (in my opinion) see Sai as a cardboard copy of Sasuke, and we all know Ino had a thing for Sasuke. I pretend Boruto doesn't exist (not a big fan of it). NejTen & SasuSaku are complex couples. To me, so is GaaIno. Complex couples make things more..._interesting_ to read.  
Also yes, I also like to read stories about the friendships between the five main female characters of Naruto. Naruto digs deep with the whole friendship thing amongst characters like Naruto, Gaara, Sasuke, and even Neji. But we don't get to see much (aside from Ino & Sakura) friendship between Tenten, Temari, and even Hinata. We just assume that they were all good after the chuunin exams. I've read too many stories of female characters bashing one another, so I wanted to incorporate female-lead bond (as it's always male lead in the show).

** NilithDelirium** \- Thank you so much for the reviews and also for your feedback regarding the flashback warnings. Looking back at the previous chapters, I guess I may have overdone it with the flashback warnings and it can be distracting to the reader. Once I get time, I may go back and fix those. I know you have TONS of questions but no worries, they will be solved...just a couple of more chapters to go :D

Thanks all for your reviews and please let me know what you think of this chapter! After this chapter, a lot of things will start to be explained regarding who these men are, what these creatures are, and what's the deal with Ino and Tenten being targeted.


	8. Chapter 8

It had been almost five days since Tenten had last spoken to Neji and she missed his presence tremendously. She had spent the majority of her time with Sakura in Konoha's hospital lab, who had dedicated the majority of her time in researching more about the strange liquids that had been injected into Ino.

"Ino was attacked," Sakura said, studying the liquid inside the test tube. Tsunade had provided her with a small sample recently.

"By one of those things?" Tenten asked, remembering how close the creature was to biting her neck not too long ago.

Sakura shook her head. "No. By one of the men actually… and he didn't attack her for the same reason that you were attacked."

"Then, why was she attacked?"

Sakura placed the test tube done and looked at her friend. "According to what Lady Tsunade told me...because the man has some infatuations for her."

Tenten raised an eyebrow, surprised yet feeling more worried about her blond-haired friend now. But before she was able to say anything, a medical ninja opened the door and looked at Sakura with wide eyes.

"Sakura, we need you! Ino's here, and she won't wake up!"

* * *

Shikamaru sat by the hallway on a wooden chair, his shoulders slumped as he rested his elbows on his knees. With a toothpick on the corner of his mouth, he stared at the door several feet in front of him. He wondered about the strange man that was held on the other side of the door. Ever since he had been captured from the Hyuga compound, the man hadn't said a word. They had used torture, both physically and mentally, yet the man continued to stay silent.

Part of Shikamaru had wondered if it would have been easier to just execute the man. However, as soon as he learned that Ino had been attacked in Suna, he knew that they had to keep their captive as alive as possible in order to get information from him.

The door in front of Shikamaru opened, revealing a tired Inoichi. The blond man had spent days trying to extract information, but had barely gotten anywhere.

"It's not like he's even human." Inoichi said, taking the seat next to Shikamaru.

Shikamaru shifted his toothpick from one corner of his mouth to another. "Maybe he doesn't want to talk to us."

"We need him to talk,'' Inoichi said, his voice becoming angrier. "One of his men attacked my daughter. What do they want from us? Who are they?"

"Maybe we have the wrong people talking to him." Shikamaru simply said and Inoichi gave him a confused look.

"And who should be speaking to him? Who do you think can get him talking?"

"Tenten."

* * *

Ino hardly dreamt; but when she did, they were positive dreams. Ever since that one night when the Kazekage had held her in his arms for the first time years ago, her dreams had been occupied by him. The stronger their relationship became, the more she dreamt of him.

But ever since that man in white had showed up in Suna and attacked her, Ino's dreams have become nightmares. Her nightmares were always the same - he had dragged her through the blue light and into an unknown area where he continuously raped her. The nightmare had felt so real that she had launched at Gaara in her sleep. He had sensed the attack coming and before letting his sand attack her back, had wrapped his arms around her tightly until she had woken up.

_"Come here, sweetheart." _

_His cold hands grabbed her a large chunk of her hair as he pulled her back towards him. She landed on the floor by his feet and all of a sudden felt his heavy boot on her bare chest._

_"Oh, I'm going to have fun with you."_

_Ino wiggled underneath his boot but was unable to get away. He laughed even louder as she tried to remove his foot off her._

_"I'm going to turn you around, bend you over, and do things so bad to you that your red-headed lover wouldn't even want to look at you again!"_

_Ino screamed as he bent down and grabbed her arm, turning her around so she was lying on her stomach._

"Ino, wake up!"

_"Such smooth skin and beautiful body…I wonder how it would feel ...If I were to rip you apart…."_

"NO!"

_Ino laid on the ground, her body frozen. Tears rushed down her face as she watched the man stand up and button his pants. She felt the pain in her lower body and kept her thighs tightly closed. _

_"Was I better than him?" the man asked, turning his head to the left._

_Ino turned her head to the direction he was looking at and saw an angry and hurt Gaara standing there. _

_"N-No...Gaara! Please!"_

"N-No...Gaara! Please!"

Gaara held on to her tightly as he heard footsteps running towards them.

"How long has she been asleep?" Sakura asked, looking at Ino struggle in the Kazekage's arms.

"Four hours." Gaara responded.

"We will need to lay her on the bed and restrain her." Sakura said and the medic ninjas around her prepared the bed.

Tenten watched with wide eyes from the entrance of the door as the medic ninjas grabbed Ino and placed her on the bed. Although her hair was down and covering her face, Tenten could see that Ino had her eyes tightly shut and tears were running down her cheeks. The medic ninjas used an unfamiliar jutsu and quickly Ino fell limb on the bed. There was a long pause in the room, and only Gaara's sandals on the wooden floor were heard as he walked over to Ino and with his thumb began to wipe her tears away.

"Her nightmares are getting worse." Gaara told Sakura.

"We will need to do some analysis." the pink-haired girl said. "This is no ordinary nightmare. This is something else."

Tenten walked out of the room, wanting to give some personal space to Gaara while he had sat by Ino's side. Tenten knew that they had travelled from Suna and had arrived in the morning and she had known about Ino's attack, but she was shocked to see how badly it had affected her friend. It was almost as if someone was fighting Ino within her mind. Watching her friend suffer gave Tenten even more motivation on speaking with the strange man about everything.

"Tenten."

She turned around and saw Neji slowly walk towards her. He was wearing black slacks and long shirt with the green vest on top. She had been avoiding him for days and seeing him again brought back the emotions and feelings. Without much thinking, she ran towards him and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face on his chest. She smiled as she felt his arms wrap around her.

"I'm sorry, Neji…" Tenten said, finally looking up at him. A smile appeared on her lips as she felt a soft kiss planted on the side of her head.

"I want to protect you," he said softly as his hand slowly rubbed her back. "But I understand your desire in finding out about your past...and I will help you."

* * *

_Next day..._

Tenten sat nervously by the hallway, staring at the door a couple of feet in front of her. Neji and Shikamaru had walked inside almost an hour ago, and she wondered what they were talking about. She wondered if the strange man had released any type of information to them. The plan was to have Shikamaru and Neji interrogate the man, and Tenten would come in some time later. She had made a mental list of the questions she wanted to ask him, and repeated those questions in her mind continuously. Part of her was scared of knowing the truth, and she wondered to herself if she was ready for it.

Tenten turned her head as she heard light footsteps approaching. The Kazekage stopped about a foot away from her, staring at the door in front of them. She was surprised that he had shown up, as he had been in the hospital room with Ino majority of the time.

"How's she doing?" Tenten softly asked. She took notice that this was the first time she had directly spoken to Gaara. Initially, she had thought that Neji was scary, but now she saw that Gaara could be scarier.

"Still in deep sleep." he simply answered, and Tenten could hear a small hint of sadness in his voice even though his face didn't express it.

"She's a survivor. She took care of our wounds." Tenten said, and Gaara looked at her. "We were hiding in the forest so those things wouldn't hear us." She looked at Gaara as he sat down next to her and looked at her, as if wanting to hear more of what happened to them before they had been dragged back underground. "It was really dark...we couldn't see anything...I had fallen through the ground and got badly injured. She was quickly by my side taking care of me as one of those creatures got closer to us. She didn't leave me behind… She made sure my wound was taken care of and then took care of herself."

"I don't know how to help her," Gaara admitted, his confession causing her to frawn sadly. "I don't know how to save her from her own nightmares."

The door in front of them opened, revealing a tired Shikamaru and angry Neji. They closed the door shut and walked out into the hallway.

Tenten stood and gave them a concerning look. "What happened? What did he say?"

"Nothing useful." Shikamaru dug his hands deep into his pockets. "We know he's not from here…. But he won't tell _us_ from where he comes from."

Tenten raised an eyebrow at him and then looked at Neji, watching as he angrily stared at the door.

"He won't tell _you_, but he will tell…..?"

"You." Neji replied to her, and Tenten looked at him surprised. "He will talk to you."

"But only two questions," Shikamaru added. "He said that he will only answer two questions for now."

Tenten nodded with determination in her mind. "Then let's do it. Let's go back in, that way we can all hear-"

"No," Shikamaru interrupted her. "He doesn't want to talk to either Neji or myself. It's part of his deal with talking to you. He doesn't even want to see us."

"Oh," Tenten said, now realizing why Neji had come out angry. She had planned on confronting the man with Neji by her side. Now, he's turning the tables on them and part of her was scared of sitting in the room alone with him. She still couldn't figure out how he had appeared in the bathroom with the beast, why he started taking her blood.

"I don't want you alone in there." Neji said, and she knew that mentally he was struggling with that idea. While the village needed answers as soon as possible, she also worried about sitting by herself with that man.

"I'll go in with her." Gaara said, walking towards the agitated Hyuga.

"What if he doesn't talk?" Neji asked.

"Gaara doesn't have to talk. He just needs to listen. Tenten can talk. If anything happens, Gaara will be there." Shikamaru said and Gaara nodded.

Tenten nodded in agreement and looked at Neji, seeing his expression relaxed.

Shikamaru turned around, revealing the dim-lighted room. He held the door open as Tenten and Gaara walked inside.

Tenten rubbed her bare arms as she heard the door close behind them. By the corner of the room sat the man. He sat with his legs crossed on the chair and a wide smile appeared on his face. She noticed the black eye that Neji had given him days ago was still there.

"We meet again. And I see you brought a friend too." the man said, watching as Tenten and Gaara sat a few feet across from him.

"I need to ask you some questions." Tenten said nervously. Something about the man made her feel scared.

"I know you do. Surprised it took you so many days to come see me. I have been expecting you."

"Who are you and where do you come from?" Tenten asked.

"That's not why you came here." the man said, shaking his head. "You came here because you have some very specific questions."

Tenten but her lip, knowing that he was right. The questions she had in mind were more about herself.

_Very well then…_

"What's in my blood that caused you and your men to extract it and use it for your strange machines?"

The man raised his eyebrows and clapped slowly at her. "Now that's a disappointing question."

"Why?"

"Because it proves to me that you don't know who you are." he replied.

"Then surprise me." Tenten said in a challenging manner, and the man gave her a slightly shocked look.

"Your blood is rich with a chemical that only belongs to a certain group of people. This chemical allows us to manipulate it...and use it for opening doors to other worlds."

Tenten's heart began to beat faster as she asked her next question. "This group of people that you speak of...Where are they truly from?"

The man smiled at her, bringing his chair in closer to her. Tenten stayed still, however she noticed Gaara's slight movement next to her, almost as if getting ready in case he decided to do something.

"From a place far..._very far_...from here. Only way to travel there is through a portal."

"The thing with the blue light?"

"Exactly. We call them Travelers...as they have the gift of traveling to wherever they want with a simple thought of their minds."

Tenten looked at him in shock, thinking back at what the headmistress of the orphanage had told her days ago. The mysterious woman who had left her in her care had disappeared via a blue light….

_The woman who brought me here must have been a Traveler! She opened a portal, brought me here, and left. But why?_

"You used my blood to open the portal. You had me attacked because you needed more of my blood. Why are you opening portals and letting those things out to attack everyone? And what _are_ those things?"

"We call them Hunters." the man said. "We've been trying to control their species for years. It's not easy to control things that do nothing but eat and kill."

"Why would you want to control something that attacked your own men?"

"It's part of the job. You must have wars here too. People die in wars. Is that going to stop future wars from happening?"

Tenten remained silent, thinking about everything he had just told them. She still had many questions for him and she hoped that Neji or Shikamaru wouldn't come in and end the session just yet. She finally had him answering questions.

"Good point," she said, "But there's a purpose as to why you're risking your own life by allowing these Hunters to come through and attack everything."

The man laughed and nodded his head. "There's always a purpose. Our purpose is to rule the world! Cliche, right? But for years we were seen as the weaker race. But not anymore. We're going to rain hell on everyone."

"Your answer on the blood still confuses me," Tenten said, wanting to change the subject back to the blood. "Before your men captured us, we saw three women tied up. You were draining them of blood. Are they also Travelers?"

"I wished!" the man said, looking up and rolling his eyes. "Our solution allows us to enhance a woman's DNA for the portal to start up. When we ran your blood through the pre-tests, we saw how enhanced your blood already was, and our suspicion was right; you have the blood of a Traveler. That's why we didn't need your cute blond friend. By the way, did Victor pay her a visit yet?"

At the mention of Ino, Gaara's eyes widened and Tenten became nervous. The man noticed the change in Gaara's expression and turned his attention to him.

"My...my...my ...looks like I just got your red-headed friend here to react to something! So I'm guessing Victor _did_ pay her visit." he said, watching Gaara curiously.

Gaara remained silent, but Tenten knew that the Kazekage was becoming tense.

"Why is Victor after her? Especially if she's not a Traveler?"

The man shrugged his shoulders and leaned back on the chair he sat on. "The fool's in love! And he wants to take her back and make her his! He's hellbent on making sure she's in his arms. I know Victor…He learns quickly from his mistakes. If he failed today, he will succeed tomorrow."

Gaara's eyes narrowed and Tenten felt angry.

"Not unless I open up a portal and we defeat you all." Tenten said, and for once, the man's smile disappeared.

He stood up with wide eyes and approached her, prompting her and Gaara to stand as well. The man's breathing became heavier as he glared at her, and Tenten knew that she finally hit a nerve.

"You're just like your people," he growled. "They travel through portals and attack us, always getting the better of us. But not anymore. We're going to unleash those Hunters on every single Traveler...starting with you, _bitch_."

Tenten remained silent but gave him a serious stare. She wasn't going to let his words get to her.

* * *

Ino stumbled off the bed, wincing as her knees hit the floor. She looked around and saw that the room was empty. She didn't remember how she got inside the hospital room. By glancing at the window on her right, she saw that the sun was close to setting, which meant it was evening time.

_I need to find Gaara…_

She knew that if she exited from the door, the medic ninjas would stop her from leaving and drag her back to bed. Quickly, she stood up and ran towards the window, opening it and trembling as she felt the cool breeze. Pulling herself upwards and sitting on the ledge of the window, she swung her legs until they were hanging from the window. Taking a deep breath, Ino jumped and landed on her feet, groaning as she balanced herself from falling.

She had an idea about where he was. While traveling back from Suna, he had told her about the attack on Tenten and how he was interested in interrogating the captured man as well.

The more she walked, the more relaxed her limbs felt and Ino began to run. Her thoughts on her nightmares were pushed aside as she ran through her village and towards the interrogation tower. One of the guards looked at her questioningly.

"Ms Yamanaka, aren't you supposed to be resting?"

"I'm feeling better now," she lied. She leaned from one foot to another, worried that if she stayed still, she would collapse on the floor. "Is the Kazekage inside?"

The guards looked at each other, almost hesitantly. Ino rolled her eyes, wanting to tell them her history with him. "I just need to see that he's OK inside. Tsunade's order." she lied even more.

One of the guards nodded and opened the door for her. Ino walked up the staircase, each step causing her to become more and more tired. She opened the door to floor four and walked into the hallway. The back of her neck prickled and for a second she stopped, touching it and feeling goosebumps. The sensation was new to her and she became scared.

_I'm right behind you…_

Ino screamed and turned around quickly, looking around frantically. She saw no one there, but she knew that the man was able to appear out of nowhere. With her heart beating rapidly against her chest, Ino began to run towards the area she knew Gaara would be at.

_Do you think he can save you all the time?_

Ino ignored his voice again as she continued to run. The sensation behind her neck became more intense to the point that she stopped running and gasped loudly. She slapped her entire hand to the back of her neck, feeling it become sweaty.

"Get out of my head…" Ino growled, taking slow steps towards her destination.

After hearing no response, she began to run again and after a couple of minutes, she saw Shikamaru and Neji standing at the end of the hallway.

However as she began to feel relief, the cold sensation behind her neck came again to the point that she collapsed on her knees.

_Do you think you're going to get rid of me that easily? I'm a part of you now, Ino!_

Ino screamed and turned around, hearing his voice again behind her. Nonetheless, there was no one there and her mind became disoriented to the point that she didn't hear the running footsteps behind her.

* * *

Tenten stopped speaking as she heard a familiar loud scream from outside the room. The man in front of her made a surprised face before speaking.

"Oh, I sense Victor nearby…."

Without saying anything, Gaara and Tenten stood and ran outside of the room. They turned their heads and saw Shakamaru holding a sobbing Ino by her forearms. As Gaara ran towards them, Tenten walked back inside the interrogation room and glared at the wicked man smirking back at her.

"What is he doing to her?!"

The man chuckled and Tenten refrained herself from punching him.

"You look very angry, girl."

"She is my friend. I can understand your hatred towards the Travelers, but she hasn't done anything to your race to be tormented like this!"

The man's smile disappeared and he looked at the fist Tenten was holding. One of his eyebrows rose as he noticed small blue particles swarming around her knuckles.

"You can unleash hell if you're not careful with that," the man, seriousness in his voice.

Tenten looked down at her fist and was shocked to see light blue particles levitating.

"Then answer my question." she said, taking a step closer to the man.

"He must have injected her with something he created ...He's good at creating serums...He must have injected her with it in order to keep track of her. It's meant for the mind."

"How do we get it out of her?"

"You can't. You're just going to have to open up a portal and have your red-headed friend kill him."

* * *

Author's Note: What do you guys think? yay or nay? What do you think of the reveal of Tenten's history? Please review!


	9. Chapter 9

Sakura knew that it was very late, but she couldn't stop. Her mind was all over the place as she wrote down more pieces of information while glancing at the unfamiliar device. After days of begging, Lady Tsunade had finally allowed the pink-haired girl to "borrow" the device in which the man used to almost escape after attacking Tenten. Sakura had many theories as to what the device could do that she had brought it to her small apartment.

Wearing nothing but a white t-shirt, undergarments, and socks, she sat on her small kitchen table, rubbing her eyes in a way to keep herself from falling asleep. The first thing she did was note down the buttons around the bracelet-like device as well as the large screen that was on top of it. Afterwards, she flipped the object in order to get a better view of the interior and was surprised to find small flasks attached to it with a dark red liquid inside.

"That's blood," Sakura whispered to herself, noting down the new piece of information. She also noticed how the small flasks were half full, which meant some portion had been used up already.

_If my theory is correct...they must be open portals with this device._

"Why aren't you in bed?"

Sakura turned around, her eyes almost half open, as she gave a tired look at Sasuke. He wore his typical ninja outfit.

"I thought you were returning tomorrow from your mission?" she asked and he gave her a confused look.

"Sakura, it's seven in the morning. I returned an hour ago from the mission." He walked closer to her and grabbed her chin lightly with his index finger, eyes narrowing as he saw the dark circles underneath her eyes. "You've been up all night, haven't you."

Blinking and turning around, she grabbed her notepad and stared at it. Nonetheless, her eyes felt so heavy that she kept reading the same sentence over and over.

"I think my theory will work…" she said softly.

"What theory?" Sasuke asked, grabbing the device from the table and inspecting it.

Sakura leaned against him and rested her head on his chest. Her lack of sleep was suddenly hitting her hard. She hadn't pulled these types of all-nighters in a long time.

"They use blood to open a portal… They travel through the portal…" she responded tiredly, her head swaying slightly back and forth. She opened one of her eyes half way and gave him a small smile. "Tenten...is a Traveler…"

"A what?" he asked.

Sakura nodded her head tiredly before finally letting her body completely rest against his. Placing the device back down, Sasuke picked her up and took her to bed. Clearly he has missed a lot since being away in his mission. After getting some rest himself, he would have to speak with the Hyuga prodigy himself to understand what he has missed in the last couple of days.

* * *

The water was freezing, which wasn't surprising due to the slow change in season in Konoha. Leaves had been turning a slight color of yellow and brown for a while now.

Ino always enjoyed warm baths, but today, the freezing cold water coming from the small waterfall felt relaxing. It was actually the most relaxed she has felt so far in the last couple of days. She knew it was very early in the morning and she had not slept at all in the past fifteen hours, but she didn't care. The cold water was helping with keeping that man's voice out of her head…

That man….

Victor…

That was his name. Tenten had told her and it gave Ino some peace of mind, as she was now able to put a name to a face.

After she had found Gaara in the interrogation tower, she had refused to sleep. She did everything she could to remain awake and not let Victor torment her mind again. Once it had started to get dark, instead of going to her parents' home to sleep, she had hiked several miles away from Konoha and towards the waterfall, with Gaara trailing right behind her, of course.

Once she had reached her destination, she discarded all of her clothes and jumped inside, the coldness of the water immediately pinching her skin. But she had ignored the uncomfortness and stayed there for hours until she finally saw the sun slowly rise from the horizon.

Turning around and pushing her bangs out away from her face, she gave a small reassuring smile to her red-headed lover sitting on a rock just a few feet away from her.

Years ago, after finding out that Sasuke and Sakura had started dating, Ino believed that she would never find someone as good looking or as cool as Sasuke. For months, she avoided her pink-haired rival in order to not think about the pain she felt whenever she saw them both having dinner together. She had been so hurt that she felt like escaping Konoha, for a while, and had agreed to accompany Shikamaru to Suna for some matters.

In a way, she was glad that seeing Sasuke and Sakura together drove her to leave the village and stumble upon someone that she least expected would love her back. It had taken a while in getting the Kazekage to confess, but the feelings came out the moment a drunk-Ino had confessed some lusty feelings towards him. She had to thank Kankuro's not-so-hidden Sake for that. After that night, she had thought that he would have kicked her out of the village. Let's face it. Who would do that to a kage? But nope. After that night, Gaara would visit her and speak with her, mentioning how speaking to her made him feel good. And after some small talks came some light touching… After some light touching of course came some light kisses…

Ino thought that she liked the cocky arrogant types like Sasuke and even Neji, but her heart had fallen hard for the quiet peaceful one instead.

Gaara had stayed with her all night, watching silently as she floated around the water. He knew that the reason why she was doing it was because it calmed her mind.

Although slightly noticeable, the corner of his lips did raise a little bit as he saw a now trembling Ino climbing up some rocks and walking away from the water. His eyes travelled down her body as he saw a small trickle of water travel from underneath her breasts to her ankles.

"G-Gaara, where…a-are m-my cl-clothes?" Ino asked, trembling even more as a small breeze passed by.

The Kazekage looked at her and lightly shrugged his shoulders.

"Wh-What do you m-mean y-you don't kn-know? I l-left them r-right n-next to you!" she barked, walking towards him and looking around. Although he rarely teased her, she knew that this was one of his _very rare moments_ with playing games on her.

Taking advantage of her proximity, Gaara grabbed her wrist and pulled her down onto his lap, quickly wrapping his arms around her in order to provide her with his warmth. Pushing her hair away from her neck, he started planting kisses on her shoulders.

"I'm too cold to have sex with you," she said in a teasing matter, yelping as she felt him nibble her shoulder.

He gave her a kiss on her cheek before looking at her seriously. "Ino, tell me about your nightmares."

Ino squirmed uncomfortably in his lap, but she knew that he wouldn't let her go until she told him. It's been many days already since the very first one and Ino couldn't keep the information away from him forever. Nonetheless, the kunoichi was afraid of unintentionally hurting him.

"It's...It's me and….him…" Even though she knows his name, she doesn't want to say it out-loud. "It's the same nightmare….over and over… He...tortures me and makes you watch..."

Gaara's grip on her hip tightened and Ino could see that even though he was no longer looking at her, he was still listening. She could see the frown forming on his face as his eyes narrowed.

"What would he do to you?" he asked, although a part of him didn't want to know.

Wanting to hide her face as she answered, Ino wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. Taking a deep sigh, she closed her eyes and answered.

"He would...rape me….repeatedly...and make you watch…. over...and over…. Like an endless loop ..."

There was a long silence between the two of them, and it was killing her. She wanted to know what he was thinking, but also knew that some things he wasn't good at communicating with.

"Gaara," Ino kissed the side of his head, stroking his cheek with her other hand.

Sensing that he wasn't moving, Ino turned his head towards her and gasped as she saw the intensity in his eyes. For a second, she thought Shukaku would emerge in front of her, but knew that that wasn't possible as he no longer hosted that beast.

"It's just a nightmare," she said, kissing the corner of his lips. "My heart belongs to you…"

"I am going to kill him."

* * *

Tenten was exhausted, but the small progress she made motivated her to continue. For the first time in her life, she felt as if she could finally own something and call it hers. Being an orphan with no associated family or clan made her feel secondary to everyone. But for the first time, she felt as if she could finally do something special.

"Tenten,"

She felt Neji's hand on her shoulder, but didn't turn around. She had been in their training grounds throughout the whole night, wanting to perfect the ability she had found out she had.

"You need to rest." he said, his tone more stern.

"I need to perfect this, Neji." she said, rubbing her eyes in order to keep herself from lying on the ground and sleeping.

"Your hand...it's bruised."

Tenten looked down at her right hand, raising her eyebrows in shock as she saw the slight bruises. It was interesting, considering she had not touched a weapon in over a day.

"You don't know what damage this can cause," he said, grabbing her arm and lifting her up.

Tenten nodded in agreement and hugged him, grateful for the fact that he had stayed up all night as well with her in the training grounds, watching her as she had tried to open a portal. She had wanted to do it on her own, and then show him, but with him staying at her apartment there was no way she could have snuck out without him noticing. However, considering the new information they had learned, instead of stopping her, he encouraged her and watched her protectively as she began making her first attempt. Although she had not been able to open any portal, she had managed to manifest small blue particles around her hand.

"Tenten!"

Tenten turned her head and gave a tired wave as she saw Ino and Gaara approaching them. She noticed the slowness in Ino's walk and how her eyes also looked puffy and red.

"What happened to your hand?" Ino asked, noticing the now more apparent black and blue bruises on Tenten's hand.

The bun-haired kunoichi frowned. "I've been trying for hours in opening a portal… but it's much harder than I thought. What happened to your hair?"

Ino smiled as she pulled her wet hair over her shoulder. "I went for a swim...helped me clear my head, for now."

Hearing rustling from the trees, the group turned. A large swarm of flies came out and hovered a few feet over them. Seconds later, Shino emerged quickly. They saw the tension in his posture as he spoke, and it gave all of them a bad feeling.

"Neji, Tenten! You must come with me immediately."

* * *

Hinata bit her bottom lip, stopping herself from whimpering in pain. Lying on her stomach on the soft patch of grass with her long hair scattered all over, she laid still and refused to activate her Byakugan. She felt a sharp claw poke her shoulder as the creature stood on top of her form. It turned its head in all directions, hearing different voices around it. Hinata heard a familiar sound, and knew that Naruto must have formed a Rasengan. She wanted to tell him to stay calm, but didn't want to startle the creature on top of her.

"Now...now, son," the man dressed in white said, staring at Naruto's palm with curiosity. "I don't know what's in your hand...but you better put that down before you startle this creature and it bites your girlfriend's head off. Remember, they can be pretty fast…"

Naruto growled, his hand trembling as he refused to put out his Rasengan. He glared at the beast sniffing on top of the frightened Hinata. He saw the way her hands trembled as the creature sniffed her head and what looked like drool dripping from the corner of its hideous mouth.

"Let her go," Naruto said, staring at the man straight in his face. "My friend already went to get her. She should be here soon…"

"Not until I make sure that it's her," the man replied, shaking his head. "I've been searching this damn place for days looking for her! Your people...are interesting ..."

"What do you want with us!?" Naruto demanded, eyes darting back to Hinata and the creature.

"Nothing, really." the man said, shrugging his shoulders casually. "All I want is that girl. Her blood will help us with making sure we win that war!"

"What...war?" Naruto asked.

"Doesn't concern you, boy." The man responded, looking aggravated as he looked around. "My people have been in constant battle with other races, and we finally managed to control a weapon to use against them!" he said, looking down at the Hunter. "However, summoning these creatures from other worlds require a skill that my people, unfortunately, don't have. That's why I need that girl! She can help my people win! Now where the hell is she!?"

"I'm right here." Tenten said, appearing right behind Naruto. "Let her go."

Gaara, Ino, Neji, and Shino stood around as well. Neji's eyes widened as he saw his cousin lying face flat with one of those monsters on top of her.

"Not until I know that you're coming with me." the man said, taking a step closer to her. He looked down at her bruised hand and raised an eyebrow. "I see you've been trying… We can help you, girl."

Although the offer was tempting, Tenten knew better than to trust him. She looked at the beast as it continued to sniff the terrified Hinata, and then glanced at Naruto. She saw how he was holding back from attacking the beast, afraid that any sudden move would cause the monster to plunge its large teeth onto Hinata.

"We have captured one of your men," Neji said, "We will give him back to you, alive, and in exchange you can leave without anyone getting hurt."

The man shook his head angrily. "I came here for _her_!" he said, pointing a finger at Tenten. "I will let this creature take a bite out of this girl's head if she doesn't come with-"

The man stopped and turned around, looking at the blue light forming behind him. The blue particles circled, widening in diameter second after second, before revealing one of his comrades. His vest was left slightly opened, showing some bruising around his neck.

Ino gasped as Victor glanced around, smirking as his eyes landed on her. She felt a strong grip on her wrist and saw Gaara take a step forward, slowly pulling her back behind him.

Victor laughed and looked at his comrade. "This is the guy who almost broke my neck with sand," Victor chuckled, rubbing his neck. "I was close to dead that night."

"What are the hell are you doing here?" the man next to him inquired.

"We don't need her anymore," Victor replied, tilting his head towards Tenten. "We just captured ourselves another Traveler…"

"Let Hinata go!" Naruto yelled, Rasengan re-appearing in his hand.

Victor glanced at the creature and then back at the blond ninja. "I'll make a proposition…. Your woman here can go back to you, unharm, in exchange for her." Victor said, pointing his finger at Ino. "And to prove to you that I won't let this creature harm your girl, look."

Victor motioned the creature away from Hinata with a flick of his wrist. The creature stepped back, allowing Victor to grab Hinata by her arm and pull her upwards. The kunoichi stood on trembling legs as she was finally able to meet Naruto's concern look. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she wanted nothing more than to run towards him.

"Now, we can exchange, this girl for the blond over there…. Or I let this monster tear her into pieces before you can even blink."

Naruto turned his head slowly towards Gaara, who met his glance. Naruto saw the tight grip Gaara had on Ino and knew that if he were to agree with Victor's terms, he would be betraying his best friend. However, he saw how bad Hinata was trembling and knew that these men did not show any mercy.

Right now, it was between Hinata and Ino; and right now, his heart was saying Hinata, even if it meant breaking the strong bond he has with Gaara.

"Stop."

Everyone glanced as Ino walked from behind Gaara and towards the center of the field.

"Let her go, _Victor_." Ino said, hatred in her tone as she said his name. "I will go with you, but first you need to let her go." She felt Gaara's hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off. She needed to concentrate.

"No," Victor said, and then motioned her to walk towards him with his index finger. "You come to me first, and then I'll let her go."

"Fine," Ino said and walked towards him.

His smile widened the closer she got to him, and it made her skin crawl with disgust. Once she was within arms reach, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him, wrapping his arm around her waist.

Ino placed her hands on his chest in order to keep some distance between them. Her heart pounded hard against her chest and she took a quick glance at Gaara. The confusion and hurt he displayed broke her heart, but she knew that it was for the best…

Satisfied that she was finally in his arms, Victor grabbed Hinata with his free hand and pushed her towards Naruto. "There ya go, kid." he said, eyes never leaving Ino though.

Naruto met Hinata halfway and quickly scooped her up in his arms. He heard her sobs against his ear and he hugged her tightly.

Feeling satisfied, Victor looked at the device around his wrist and then back at Ino. "Time for us to go, my dear."

Before he was able to configure the device on his wrist and open a portal, Ino gently grabbed his face and smiled as he turned towards her. "Actually before we do, I want to...say something…"

Victor gave her a bewildered look. "Oh? And what is that, lo-?" Victor gasped as he felt a sharp pain in his stomach. He looked down at the sharp object protruding from his body, blood dripping from his wound. There was a piece of paper sticking out from the knife that she had stabbed him with and he casted her a confused look.

"One of Tenten's other gifts..." Ino said, quickly pushing him away from her.

Victor pulled the kunai out but before he was able to inquire further, the knife in his hand exploded. The explosion startled the creature behind them, causing it to launch towards the nearest moving object, which happened to be her. Before the creature launched towards her, she felt something wrap around her waist and pull her back with so much force that she held her breath. The sand brought her back towards Gaara's embrace. Before Ino could register what was happening, she saw one of Gaara's arms extend as sand blocked the attack from the creature.

"Hakke Kuushou!" Neji yelled, palms out.

The beast was thrown against a tree, knocking it down with its immense weight. It shook its head, struggling to get up initially, before running back towards the group. Naruto jumped in front of the creature, Ransengan in hand. The creature howled in pain as the attack drove a large hole in its chest, black liquid coming out. Naruto glared as the creature laid on its back in pain, its limbs twitching as it was no longer able to move.

"You shouldn't have done that!"

They all turned around in horror as they saw the man standing next to Victor hold Hinata by the back of her neck. Victor stood next to his comrade, groaning in pain as blood from his damaged hand dripped on the ground. A portal opened behind them.

"I'm going to fucking kill you both." Victor growled, glaring at Ino and Gaara. Watching the red-head embrace the woman he wanted to be with fueled his anger even more. Victor wanted nothing more than to assault her in front of him and then have her watch him kill her red-headed lover.

"This is all your fault," Victor's comrade said, pointing at both Ino and Tenten. "And now, she's going to pay." Immediately, the two men jumped inside the portal, dragging a sobbing Hinata with them.

Naruto and Neji ran towards the closing portal, but it was too late.

* * *

Author's note: what do you think? yay? nay?

please review!


	10. Chapter 10

_"Open it," Naruto finally said after a long silence. His trembling hands were fisted by his sides. _

_It took a moment before Tenten realized that he was addressing her even though his back was to her. She rubbed her bruised hand, not sure what to say. She took a quick glance at Neji and frowned even more at his facial expression. His eyes were cold and she could tell that he was trying to hold his composure. _

_"Tenten," _

_Her attention went back to Naruto, who was now standing about a foot away from her. The tensity in his eyes caused her to gulp._

_"Open the portal." he commanded._

_Panic hit her and she glanced at Neji for help, but seeing him not look at her caused her to feel disappointed. She wasn't sure what to do. _

_"I…. can't…" she finally admitted._

_Naruto's eyes widened in shock, and she could see that he was trying to remain as calm as possible. "What do you mean you can't?"_

_"I..I can't, Naruto. I've been trying, b-but I can't get one to open." she admitted, glancing at Neji for backup. He was looking at her this time, but he didn't say anything. In truth, she wasn't sure what he was thinking or feeling, and it scared her. _

_"So you're saying that Hinata is stuck in some place and we can't get to her!" Naruto yelled at her and Tenten flinched. _

_She felt embarrassed and nervous being yelled at by someone who was always described as goofy and somewhat immature at times. However this Naruto in front of her was different. His eyes were turning slightly yellow and for a brief moment, Tenten wondered if he was going to attack her._

_"Naruto, stop it." Ino finally stepped in, "It's not her fault that Hinata was taken."_

_Naruto gave the same glare to Ino, however she didn't let it get to her. _

_"You stabbing him caused that thing to attack!" Naruto accused, taking a step towards her. _

_"Would you have preferred me to be taken away then?!" _

_Naruto was about to reply, but once he caught Gaara's stern look, he knew it was best to not say anything. He knew the Kazekage well. He knew that he would do anything in his power to protect his village and Ino. Naruto took another glance at Tenten before turning around, his shoulders slumped. He stood there for a moment before leaving the scene. _

_Tenten took a step closer to Neji, watching as he finally looked at her in the eyes. "I will need to report this to Lord Hiashi."_

_She nodded in agreement, wondering if he would react similarly to Naruto. Before she could say anything, Neji turned around. He turned his head back slightly to look at her and Tenten gulped at the somewhat cold yet disappointed look on his face. "You should have thought about your attack more thoroughly." And with that, he left._

_Tenten stood frozen in her spot, unsure what to think or do. Those men came here for her, and while she thought she did the right thing by giving Ino the weapon and to attack, she had caused one of her good friends to be taken instead. And Hinata wasn't just any kunoichi; she was from the Hyuga clan. One of the most (if not the most) respected clans in the village. She was Lord Hiashi's first born. Tenten stared at her bruised hand and regretted ever going on that mission to rescue those three kunoichis. She had always wanted to know more about who she was, but clearly it came at a price. And not only that, but the skill she was supposed to have, she couldn't even figure out how to make it work. _

_Tenten didn't realize she had been crying until she felt one of her teardrops reach her closed lips and she tasted the salt in them. Not sure where to go from there, she turned towards the opposite direction of the village and left._

_"I should go after her," Ino said, giving Gaara a peck on his lips "I will look for you later."_

_He gave her a slight nod and watched as she ran after her friend._

Emotions were something that Tenten always made sure to keep under control. While she never experienced any type of discrimation while growing up, she knew that under certain eyes, an emotionally unstable woman did not make a good kunoichi. Part of her felt as if men were able to get away with some emotionally-unstable driven acts compared to women. And while she had never experienced this first hand, she knew that it was best to keep herself under control as much as possible. This, of course, led to her being assigned to important missions and respect from many of her male peers.

However today, all of those years with keeping herself under control and not letting tears easily come out, all of that was gone. The guilt within her chest was so strong that she wondered if she would ever be able to move on.

After leaving the grounds, she ran away without much thinking as to where. Thinking about Neji's words and the way he looked at her made her feel worse. It reminded her of the Neji before the chunin exams - the one who was colder and sometimes wouldn't think twice about hurting others. She now wondered if this meant that they were broken up. There was no way she could face him now without anyone knowing where those people took Hinata and what they were going to do with her. And the only person who could even get to her was….her….

Tenten felt a sharp pain by her toes and before registering what was happening, felt her face hit the ground hard. Normally, she wouldn't even let something such as a rock trip her. And if that was the case, not even allow herself to fall face flat on the ground. But today was very different, and she had not slept throughout the night.

"Maybe I deserve this…" Tenten mumbled to herself.

"Tenten, get up."

Tenten sighed on the ground, not bothering to look at Ino. While running, she knew that her friend had chased after her. She felt herself relax against the ground until she felt Ino's tight grip on her forearm.

"You're acting like Sakura the first time Sasuke broke her heart." Ino groaned, putting one of Tenten's arms over her shoulders and dragging her towards a tree for them to lean on. "You're better than this."

Tenten hummed in response, allowing herself to be dragged. They sat down by the tree, their backs resting against the trunk.

"It's not your fault," Ino continued, "We had to do something. We couldn't just stand there and let them take us!"

"But now they have Hinata and we can't save her because I can't open a portal!" Tenten exclaimed, rubbing her wet puffy eyes with the back of her hand. "I gave you that weapon, thinking that maybe we could kill them and put an end to this! But it failed and now I can't even rescue our friend!" Ino didn't say anything, instead allowing her brown-haired friend to cry on her shoulder. She didn't know what to say herself, as she too felt guilt in her chest. Closing her blue eyes, Ino remembered how Tenten had given her the weapon from behind before she had walked towards Victor. A combination of excitement and anxiousness had hit her as she had walked towards the man, thinking in her mind how all she had to do was stab him when he was least expecting it. And she had done it with the thoughts of never having to hear his voice in her mind ever again. But everything had happened fast and next thing she knew, Hinata was taken.

Despite the fact that Ino was trying her hardest to comfort Tenten, she couldn't deny the fact that she felt guilty too. She cringed at the thought of those men taking advantage of Hinata. Part of her couldn't blame Naruto for wanting Tenten to open a portal so he could rescue her. He had seen the state her and Tenten were in when they were first rescued and how they were both stripped to their underwear.

Opening her eyes, Ino wiped a tear away as she realized that she too was crying. Looking sideways, she noticed the sleeping Tenten on her shoulder and sighed. Closing her eyes, she leaned her head against the tree and let sleep take over, praying that all of this was one of Victor's cruel nightmares and that by the team she woke up, everything would have been just a nightmare...

* * *

Shikamaru pinched the bridge of his nose as Tsunade stormed out of the room. He watched as she walked towards the nearest wall and punched it, leaving a wide gaping hole. Sweat rolled down the Hokage's forehead, and Shikamaru could see that she was suffering from exhaustion. Turning his head, he watched as Neji placed two fingers by the dead man's neck, trying to feel a pulse.

"How could this have happened!?" Tsunade yelled, hands on her hips as she paced back and forth.

Naruto stood silently by the corner, body trembling as he glared at the lifeless body. After Hinata's capture, he had notified the Hokage about everything while Neji had informed Lord Hiashi. Lady Tsunade's immediate action was to interrogate their prisoner and make a deal with him in order for him to open a portal and help get Hinata back. But the moment they had reached the interrogation tower and ran inside the room that held the man inside, they were shocked to see his body on the floor. Some time later, Neji and Lord Hiashi had arrived, their faces emotionless as they stared at the man who could have helped them get Hinata back.

"Looks like he's been dead for a while." Neji said, his voice cold. Byakugan on, he looked around but saw nothing out of the usual. After telling his uncle everything that happened, Lord Hiashi had wanted to personally plea with the man to help them get Hinata back. "He was strangled." Neji continued, pointing at the marks on the man's pale neck.

"The door was locked, and the guards didn't hear anything." Shikamaru added, hands digging inside his pockets. "My guess is that one of his people opened a portal and killed him… Maybe to prevent him from saying anything else."

"Lady Tsunade," Hiashi said, grabbing the woman's attention. "My daughter is missing, and the man who could have helped us is dead. Hinata is of the Hyuga clan! We need to bring her back! Dead or alive…"

"The only other way to find your daughter, Lord Hiashi, is to have Tenten try and open a portal to wherever these men come from." Tsunade replied, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Apparently, her blood is rich enough for it to be used to open a portal."

"She has not been able to successfully open one." Neji added as he walked towards his uncle. "We don't know how long it will take for her to master it."

"It doesn't matter how long," Hiashi said, "Bring her to me, Neji. We'll see that she can open one."

* * *

Inoichi Yamanaka stood patiently, watching as the Kazekage spoke with a Shinobi from Suna before writing something in a scroll. Aside from a few important meetings, this was the first time Inoichi had gotten a good look at the young man.

Whenever the name Gaara was mentioned around the village, all he could think of was the young red-headed pre-teen who had attacked his village about five years ago with bloodlust. Five years ago, never would have Inoichi imagined that his daughter would be in a relationship with that same person, even if that young violent boy had turned into the Kazekage. Any parent would be thrilled for their child to be with someone of such high power and status, but this situation was different. Inoichi personally knew a few Shinobi from Konoha who had tried to get in the pre-teen's way years ago, but were met with death instead. While those Shinobis weren't exactly friends with him, Inoichi had still considered them as comrades at least.

Inoichi watched as the messenger bird flew away with the small scroll in its back. He stared at the back of Gaara's head, wondering if the young man had taken notice of him standing there. The sound of the kage's voice confirmed this.

"You want to speak with me." Gaara said, turning his head slightly towards the blond man.

"Yes, Kagekage-sama. I wish to speak with you in private," Inoichi said, carefully eyeing the two Suna guards standing on opposite direction of the kage.

Gaara looked at his guards and nodded. "It's fine."

As the guards stepped aside and walked out of the balcony, Inoichi walked closer to the kage. Despite the troubling past, he must admit that the young kage has done incredibly well for himself in the last few years.

Inoichi cleared his throat before meeting his eyes. "I hadn't had the chance to thank you for saving my daughter. You're the Kazekage and have a village to take care of. Yet, you still went to look for my daughter knowing that Lady Tsunade was going to send a rescue team. Thank you, Kazekage-sama, for bringing her back safe and for also protecting her."

Gaara gave him a slight nod in response, arms crossed in front of his chest. He continued to stare at the man before him, knowing that he had more to say. Gaara was aware that Ino had not spoken about them to her father, and he was also aware of Inoichi's mixed feelings towards his relationship with his daughter.

As if reading his mind, Inoichi sighed before continuing. "I...would also like to know what your intentions are with my daughter."

Inoichi waited impatiently for an answer, watching as the young kage narrowed his eyes slightly, confused by his question. Clearing his throat, the older man reiterated his question. "I am aware of the politics that occur when one's a kage. The last thing a village needs is a dead kage with no immediate heirs. My daughter is too young for all of that, and no offense to your village sir, but Suna still has many enemies out there."

Understanding the concern the man was conveying, Gaara looked elsewhere as he spoke. "The talks about marriage and heir have already started amongst my council members. But I have not spoken to Ino about it yet. I am aware that such topic is still too early for her and she is not ready."

Inoichi nodded, watching as the Kazekage slowly turned his head back towards him with a slight intensity in his eyes.

"However, it is my intention to ask for your daughter's hand in marriage. And while I may not be your kage, you have my word that I will always protect her."

* * *

The air felt musty. The ground underneath her body felt hard and she groaned while sitting up. The back of her head was wet, and Hinata ran her fingers through her hair in order to let some breeze go through her scalp. Although it was dark, Hinata could still see her surroundings thanks to the very dim light a few feet away from her. She noticed bars in front of her and blinking her eyes rapidly, her mind came to the conclusion that she was inside some type of cell.

Rubbing her forehead with the back of her hand, Hinata stood up and walked closer towards the cell door. She gasped as she saw another cell just a few feet in front of her. Although it was very dim, Hinata noticed someone inside that cell.

"H-Hello?" she said, watching as she saw the person in the opposite cell groan and move slightly towards the light. "Wh-Who's there?"

Hinata saw a woman with red hair crawl towards the cell door, wires and tubes attached to her. The woman was covering herself with a large piece of fabric, and Hinata noticed that she was wearing nothing underneath that. Sad green eyes then met Hinata's as the woman raised her head and gave her a slight small.

"You look so different…" the woman said slowly. "I've never seen such eyes before. Are you blind? What's your name?"

"Hinata" she said, shaking her head. "And no, I'm not. Wh-What's your name? A-And… D-Do you know where we are?"

The woman smiled sadly. "That's a beautiful name, Hinata. And my name is Mila Rose. And unfortunately they don't stay in one location, so no I don't know where we are. Gets hard to keep track of them." Seeing how the girl's clothes were still intact, the woman spoke again. "How did you get trapped in here?"

"O-One of them took me...from my village," Hinata replied, thinking back as she remembered Naruto's bright blue eyes. "Th-They were after my friend ... for her blood…"

The woman raised an eyebrow at her as she laid her head against the rough wall of the cell. "Her blood? Your friend...is a Traveler?"

"Y-Yes, from what I know…" Hinata nodded. "She actually found out recently too. According to the woman who ran her orphanage, my friend's actually not from my village, originally. She was brought in by some woman who appeared in her home years ago-"

Hinata stopped speaking as she noticed that the woman was finally standing on her two legs, green eyes wide in shock and her mouth slightly gaped. The fabric around the woman's shoulders began to slip off, revealing dark bruises on her skin. Hinata saw a tear roll down the woman's face.

"H-Hinata…" Mila Rose whispered, her thin pale hands trembling. "Over a decade ago, I dropped off a baby girl inside a woman's home for protection. The girl had no name, as she had been born just a few hours before. I don't know the name of the place I went to…."

Hinata quickly recalled what the headmistress of the orphanage had told her and Tenten, about a woman with green eyes and red hair dropping Tenten off in the middle of her home. The woman just a few feet away from her had red hair and green eyes….

_Could it be?_

Quickly, Hinata dug into the pocket of her pants and pulled out her Konoha headband. She extended her arm out in order for the woman to see the logo representing the hidden leaf village.

"Did you see something like this anywhere? This symbol?"

The woman narrowed her eyes as she looked at the symbol that was carved in the headband. Although it had been a long time since she had dropped the girl off, she did remember seeing that symbol somewhere in the woman's home.

"Y-Yes...I-I believe I do."

Hinata smiled as she lowered her arm. "For all her life, Tenten always wondered where she came from and who her parents were. Now there's someone who can finally tell her more about who she really is. She'll be so thrilled to meet you!"

Mila Rose smiled sadly and looked away briefly, and Hinata quickly noticed that whatever Mila Rose knew about Tenten's parentage was probably not good. After a while, the woman turned back to Hinata and lifted her head confidently.

"I will tell your friend everything she needs to know. I can open us a portal and get us to your village. But for that, I will need your help. Can I count on you?"

* * *

Author's Note: What do you guys think? What do you think of Hinata meeting the woman who brought Tenten to Konoha? What do you think of Ino going after Tenten to make sure she was OK? What do you think of Inoichi being skeptical of Gaara and Ino's relationship? I've read stories of Inoichi being happy about it, but I wanted to do something different.

Please leave a review!


	11. Chapter 11

Hinata had to look away at the grotesque scene in front of her. The men had taken her and Mila Rose to a different cell. Due to her pearl white eyes, the men had assumed she was blind and didn't bother with even constraining her. After they had been thrown into the new cell, they remained quiet and waited. They knew that for their plan to work, it had to be executed when there were less of them around. Having them think that she was blind benefited their plan, as it helped with not having them be suspicious of her.

Nonetheless, fear had struck her chest when the doors had opened again and the men dragged Mila Rose out and threw her onto a table. They had removed the large piece of cloth off of her, leaving her completely naked, and immediately poked her with needles. After long minutes of them extracting blood, Hinata watched in horror as one of the men climbed on top of the red-headed woman while undressing himself.

She looked away and placed her hands over her ears, thinking about Naruto while trying to keep Mila Rose's pained groans out of her head.

* * *

Tenten laid still on her sofa with her hand extended outwards as Ino, sitting on the floor, began healing her bruised hand. The bruising was interesting to the blonde kunoichi, as it wasn't from any physical wound. Part of her worried that she wouldn't be able to help her friend's discolored hand.

After their short nap, they had walked back to Tenten's apartment. Ino suggested her to shower and change and when Tenten had refused, she had shoved her friend inside the bathroom and stood by the door.

"Is it healing?" Tenten asked, her eyes remaining closed. She wore a white tank top with black knee-length leggings. After her long shower, she had decided to leave her hair down, not bothering to tie it into the usual buns.

Ino's eyebrows were furrowed as she glared at the hand. "I'm...trying...but it's almost as if...it doesn't _want_ to heal."

Confused by her statement, Tenten opened her eyes and looked down at her hand. Sure enough, despite Ino's efforts, one second her hand seemed fine, and the next it would turn back to its purple-black color.

"Th-Then I think you should stop."

"No, I can do this!"

"Ino, you're going to tire-"

"Tenten, I got this!"

Knowing that arguing with the Yamanaka was pointless. Ino did what she wanted, and Tenten wondered how Gaara handled that side of her. Instead of wasting her time arguing with her friend, Tenten closed her eyes and wondered what Neji was doing. Part of her wanted to see him again, but another part didn't. She wasn't sure what he was feeling, and it ached her chest to not know what was going through his mind.

There was a knock on the door and both girls looked at each other for a while.

Seeing that her efforts were going nowhere, Ino got up and walked towards the door. Her eyebrows rose surprisingly as she saw Sakura standing in front of her with a blank-faced Sasuke right next to her.

"We heard what happened," Sakura started before glancing at the brown-haired girl lying on the couch with her bruised hand extended. "How's Tenten doing?"

"Aside from her hand, she's...OK I guess."

"Have you tried healing her hand?"

"Of course I have, but it won't heal. Come, try it yourself." Ino said, opening the door wider for them to come in.

Upon seeing Sasuke and Sakura walking towards her, Tenten sat up and offered them a small smile. Sakura sat next to her and grabbed her hand, inspecting the bruises.

"I have tried all of the techniques Lady Tsunade taught us," Ino commented, crossing her arms frustratingly across her chest. "But nothing's working."

"Let me try," Sakura said.

Grabbing Tenten's hand gently by the wrist, Sakura placed her hand just an inch above hers. A green aura quickly emitted from it. Sakura could feel her hand shaking and lowering towards Tenten's, and using more strength, she pulled her hand back. Nonetheless, the pull emitting from Tenten's hand was becoming stronger. Taking a quick glance at her friend, Sakura saw that Tenten's eyes were closed but her eyebrows were furrowed.

"Ino, I think I may need your help in this."

Nodding, Ino sat on the other side of the couch and placed hands near Sakura's. She immediately felt the pull coming from Tenten's hand.

"Sakura, do you feel it?"

"The pulling? Yeah..."

In the meantime, Sasuke Uchiha watched silently from about a foot away. Although he wasn't too familiar with the portal that Sakura had explained to him earlier, he could still sense that something was wrong with Tenten. He noticed the way her hand would twitch once in a while, his guess that something with large energy wanted to escape. He counted the frequency in which her hand would twitch and noticed that it increased the moment both Ino and Sakura began to apply more chakra. Getting up from the chair, he began to walk towards them, his mind telling him that he should quickly stop them.

"Ino, Sakura...Stop!" Sasuke's words were too late though as a large blue sphere suddenly sucked all four of them in.

* * *

Hinata covered the weak Mila Rose with the white sheet she previously had. After the long excruciating assault, the men had thrown the red-headed woman back inside the cell she shared with Hinata. By the time they had placed her in there, Mila had been half conscious, her green eyes half opened as if all of her energy had been sucked out of her.

Sitting next to the fragile woman, Hinata allowed the woman to use her shoulder as a pillow. They had planned on discussing their escape plan, but because of the fragility of Mila due to her assault from those men, Hinata knew that right now wasn't the proper time. If they were to escape, she would need Mila to have most of her strength at least.

"Here!" one of the men said as he threw a piece of bread and a bottle of water inside.

Hinata waited a few seconds before retrieving the items. She had lost count of how many hours she had spent inside the cell and although the bread felt hard, she still welcomed it. She would need her strength too in case she had to fight during their escape. She took a few sips of warm water and decided to leave the rest for when Mila woke up. Another set of doors opening was heard and Hinata remained still in the shadows of her cell. Two figures walked in and Hinata immediately recognized one of them as the man who was infatuated with Ino.

Glancing at his hand from where the kunai exploded, Hinata could see the damage left behind. His entire hand was bandaged and she saw that he only had two fingers left out. The explosion had taken away a few of his digits. Hinata watched him closely as he and another male walked towards a device.

"We'll hit them at night time," Victor said.

Hinata noticed the nervous expression the other male had.

"Victor, we're extremely understaffed. Those creatures keep getting out of control and attacking our men! We can't spend any more resources going to this same place just so you can torment that blond woman!"

He's talking about Ino! Hinata thought, watching as the man named Victor groaned.

"Are you planning on killing her?"

Victor shook his head. "...No...I want her ... but that damn red-head... I need to kill him first."

Hinata's eyes widened as she stared at their backs. The men were holding a strange weapon in their hands, inspecting it. She watched as Victor pointed one of the weapons and pressed a button. The loud noise caused her to jump as a bright light was emitted from the object and hit a nearby wall. As the smoke subsided, a large hole on the wall appeared.

"This should break through his sand," Victor said, patting the large weapon. "and right through him too."

"We only have that one left." the man next to him said.

Victor gave his comrade a smirk. "We'll use the Hunters to kill everyone else. This right here will be for him. I'm going to blast a hole right through his chest right in front of her."

Hinata's heart beat faster as she thought about the danger Gaara and Ino would soon be in, and how she had to get home soon and warn them.

* * *

Konoha was quiet, many of its residents were indoors. Neji stopped walking as he sensed the all too familiar presence behind him. Sighing, he turned around.

"Lee, I know you're there." he said, watching as his teammate jumped down from a roof top and right in front of him. Lee's usual bright smile and sparkling eyes were replaced with a frown and serious facial expression.

"What are you going to do with our youthful flower, Neji?"

"I am going to speak with her." he replied, turning around. Nonetheless, Lee's next question stopped him in his tracks.

"Are you going to hurt her?"

Neji turned his head coldly towards him, but Lee stood his ground. The kidnapping of Hinata had circulated around the village fast, and everyone in the Hyuga household had started praying non-stop for her return. In addition, more inquiries had been made about Tenten and her strange abilities and while Neji knew that his uncle wanted the bun-haired girl in the compound as soon as possible, he felt the need to protect her from what was to come. Lee's question angered him.

"Is that what you think I'm going to do to her?"

Lee didn't let Neji's glare get to him as he took a few more steps closer to him. "We're all aware of what happened to Hinata and while I am sad to hear of her kidnapping, it is not Tenten's fault for trying to fight back. You may be more than just her friend and comrade, but she is like a sister to me and I am not afraid of protecting her from anybody, including you."

Neji took a step closer to him, both men now standing face to face. The few villagers walking by them stopped and stared with wide eyes, wondering who would start.

"Do you seriously think I would hurt Tenten?"

"We all know Naruto is angry at her for not being able to open a portal. Your uncle wants to speak with her. What are your intentions, Neji?"

"To protect her." Neji said before suddenly looking up.

A strong wind passed around them as a strange noise was heard from up above. Neji and Lee started with apprehension as they saw something blue form just a few feet above them.

"Everyone, get back!" Lee said to the nearby villagers. "Do you think it's one of those monsters?"

"No," Neji replied, byakugan on. "I see one body coming thro- Tenten!"

Lee stared with wide eyes as Tenten suddenly fell through the twirling blue particles. Concentrating his chakra by his feet, Neji jumped high and grabbed her before she hit the ground. Landing back down with her in his arms, Neji's worry increased as he felt the coldness emitting from her body and paleness from her face.

"Is-Is she dead?!" Lee inquired, watching how Tenten's body was slumped on Neji's arms.

"No, but her pulse is weak. I need to get her to a hospital."

%%

Although it took a moment to regain consciousness, Sakura quickly became fully aware of Sasuke's body underneath her. Her mind still felt dizzy as she tried to correlate what just happened minutes ago, but the warmth of Sasuke's body beneath her had other intentions appearing in her brain. Opening her bright green eyes, she noticed how her face was neatly tucked by the crook of his neck while she lay on top of him with her legs on each of his sides. Blushing madly, Sakura lifted her upper body up, sitting astride from his hips. She gave him a nervous smile as she saw how one of his eyebrows were raised in amusement.

"We're in my room?" she finally asked, looking around and seeing her pink-covered mattress underneath him.

Sasuke gave her a nod. "Tenten must have teleported us through a portal and brought us here."

"If that's the case, then where's Tenten and Ino?"

_But more importantly, how did Tenten know to put Sasuke-kun and me in my bedroom?_

%%

The meeting was long, yet highly necessary as the five kages sat around a circular table. As Lady Tsunade explained a potential strategy plan on what to do whenever those men appeared again, the other kages would interrupt her to ask Gaara more questions regarding the monsters and the men who somehow managed to control them. One suggestion that had been brought up during the meeting was creating a similar device which would create a portal, but using chakra rather than blood.

"I think it's time for a recess," Lady Tsunade finally said, "We shall resume in one hour."

As the kages stood from their chairs, they stopped as the scrolls around them began to fall on the floor due to the sudden wind that had manifested inside the meeting room. Hearing a strange noise from up above, they all looked up as blue particles began to circulate.

"Is that a portal?!" one of the kages asked, to which Gaara nodded.

"It could be them, or it could be those beasts." Tsunade warned, watching as the portal began to grow.

They all stood in their spots, ready for battle, however the portal quickly closed as soon as Ino's falling body came through it. Seeing at how fast she was coming down, Gaara's hand extended as the sand used as his armor left his body and wrapped itself around her before bringing her body towards him. The other kages watched as Gaara held the semi-conscious girl by the arms as she struggled to stand straight.

"Ino, wake up."

Ino's eyebrows furrowed as she tried to mentally stop the dizziness. She knew that if it wasn't for the strong grip Gaara had on her arms, she would probably be on the floor by now. As soon as she felt a hand cup her cheek, she opened her eyes and quickly saw the familiar teal eyes and red hair right in front of her.

"Are you hurt? What happened?"

Ino shook her head slightly and gave him a reassuring smile. "We...were healing Tenten… and then a blue light pulled us in…. I feel very dizzy…. like I've been spinning out of control for hours… I just need some rest ..." she said before allowing her body to lean completely against his.

Picking the now unconscious girl up, Gaara glanced at the wide-eyed Tsunade.

* * *

Hinata knew that they only had a few minutes in order to get this right. Standing up straight, she turned on her byakugan and saw as a few of the masked men stood by a corner of the room, discussing something. Grabbing Mila Rose by her thin arm, she helped the shorter woman stand.

"Are you sure you're ready?" Hinata whispered.

"Yes." Mila replied, pulling the white sheet closer to her body. "I have enough energy to get us there but after that, I'm afraid I will need more time to rest…"

Hinata's heart pounded fast and she stared nervously at the group of men not too far from them as Mila Rose raised her arm. Nothing happened for the first few seconds and Hinata wondered if their plan would even work. However, she noticed blue particles forming quickly. The particles became thicker as each second passed by.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing!?" one of the men shouted, quickly running towards their cell.

"I got this!" Hinata yelled, pulling out three kunai and throwing it towards the men. It hit two of them only, and the third man pointed a weapon towards them.

"Almost got it…" Mila groaned, watching as the portal she was creating grew larger in side.

The man fired the weapon, a bright flash quickly heading towards their direction. Hinata felt its intent heat as it got closer to them and watching as they had no time, she grabbed the shorter woman and ran towards the portal. Melting the barred-cell doors, the light got closer to them and Hinata screamed as the heat became more extreme. Nonetheless, ignoring the slight burning sensation on her arm, she jumped inside the portal and was hit with total darkness.

* * *

Author's note: It's been a while since I updated. Special thanks to **Imagifictions** & **FFNRocks** (guest reviewer) for leaving me reviews on last chapter (chapter 10). Reviews help me with continuing a story.

Let me know what you think of this chapter! I think this story will end in about 3 more chapters. So things are about to start wrapping up. Victor wants his revenge against Ino & Gaara, and he's got a strong weapon to use. What did y'all think of that slight Lee vs Neji scene too?

Please leave a review!


	12. Chapter 12

Naruto ran as fast as he could, using his chakra to boost his speed, as he passed through the buildings and shops of the village. As soon as he turned by a corner, he quickly saw the large crowd circled around. The villagers whispered loudly amongst themselves while pointing at something on the ground. Although his blue eyes couldn't see what was on the ground, Naruto could sense the familiar presence just a few feet away from him. He had seen the portal high above the sky from his bedroom window and as soon as he saw two falling bodies coming out of it, Naruto knew that she was back.

"Move!" he screamed, pushing away some of the spectators.

Naruto felt his heart almost pop out of his chest as he saw Hinata lying on the ground, the sleeves of her purple sweater torn, displaying slight burn marks on her arms. Despite the injuries, she was holding onto a smaller red-headed woman who was covered with nothing but a white sheet. Getting on his knees, Naruto grabbed Hinata by her shoulders and turned her around. Her eyes fluttered for a moment, adjusting to the bright light of the sun.

"Hinata!"

Pulling her onto his lap, Naruto brushed her hair away from her face as she finally opened her eyes and looked directly at him. Letting his tears run down his face, Naruto pulled her body forward and gave her a long hug.

"You're back!" he said, his wet face planted on the crook of her neck.

Hinata gave a weak nod, feeling her own tears rolling down her face. During her stay there, she thought about her family and friends. But the person mostly on her mind was Naruto; each second praying that he would rescue her. Nonetheless, she knew that despite being home, the problem wasn't over.

"N-Naruto, they're coming here." she said, pulling away from the hug. "They are coming here, and they are going to bring those monsters again- where's Mila!?"

Turning around, Hinata crawled towards Mila's unconscious form. Fixing the white sheet around the woman's nude body, Hinata turned her head towards him.

"We need to get her to Lady Tsunade fast. They are coming!"

Nodding, Naruto stood and picked Mila up from the ground.

"Are you good to run?" he asked Hinata, watching as she stood.

She gave him a nod and they both took off.

Ino knew that sooner or later, she would have to have an honest conversation about her relationship with the Kazekage to her parents. She had hoped to delay such conversation until after Hinata was found and those men were defeated, but after Gaara had told her about her father's visit to him, she knew that it was time to face her parents. The three of them sat around the dining table of their home; Ino on one side and her parents on the opposite end.

"He attacked our village not too long ago." Ino's mother commented, taking a sip of her green tea.

Ino rolled her eyes at the comment. "Orochimaru was mostly behind it. Gaara didn't plan on attacking our village."

"We lost friends during that time," her mother replied, tilting her head to the side. "A few of them were killed by him-"

"When he hosted that demon and lost control." Ino spat back, already feeling herself losing her patience. "This was years ago and-"

"And now there are children who are growing up without their fathers by their sides."

Ino chose not to respond immediately. It was an awkward topic, considering she remembered attending the funeral of the fallen men. The men who were unlucky to get in front of Gaara's path years ago and unfortunately were met with their deaths. Throughout their dating period, they had discussed his troubling past once. And while the topic was hard on those who suffered, she knew that it was also hard on Gaara himself. Despite no longer hosting the demon, Gaara slept minimally. He had once admitted to her that sleeping with her by his side calmed the nightmares that plagued his mind. His revelation caused an ache in her chest and after that moment, she had frequented her trips to the sand village.

"Well?" Ino's mother said, tapping her fingers on the table impatiently, "What do you have to say?"

"That he had left his village and came to rescue me while I was stripped to my underwear in some lab," Ino said angrily, trying not to think about any of that. "That he risked his life rescuing me from a man who would rape me in my nightmares. That he's been in our village for a while now, knowing that the danger still isn't over and that Victor could appear at any moment and take me."

Her parents were quiet, and Ino could see that this new piece of information hit them harder than she expected. Good. She hadn't planned on sharing these details with them, but since they had decided to interrogate her, why not lay out all of it out in front of them.

"Yes, the dirt bag who's been tormenting my mind and raping me in my nightmares is Victor! He's the one who attacked me in Suna! He was the one who tied me and whipped me until my back was bleeding! And you know who came and saved me?!"

Ino's parents remained quiet. Her father looked down briefly and her mother looked at the table, her eyes finally warming up. She knew that explaining more to them, at least now, wouldn't do them any good. Her parents didn't understand the agony she and Tenten went through; they didn't understand how dangerous these men were.

"I need to go check up on Tenten," Ino said, getting up and walking towards the door. She heard her mother clear her throat, as if ready to say something, but Ino couldn't take it anymore. Groaning, she opened the door and left.

* * *

_Two hours later…._

Mila Rose stared at the contents on the plate with wide eyes. She had never seen such food before.

"They're called rice balls," Sakura said, "You've been starved before, so try to eat piece by piece and slowly."

Mila nodded and took a small bite, moaning at the deliciousness that suddenly hit her mouth. Sakura smiled and placed a glass of water in front of her. She studied the woman in front of her, seeing her face glowing as she ate more of the food.

The door of the hospital room opened, allowing Tsunade, Naruto, and Hinata to walk in. Upon seeing the red-haired woman finally awake, Hinata ran towards her and gave her a hug. Mouth filled with food, Mila smiled and hugged her back.

"I-I was w-worried that y-you wouldn't w-wake up," Hinata said, "You used a lot of energy to get u-us here."

Mila smiled at her, placing her hand over hers. "I feel much better, thanks to your friend here." Mila said, smiling at Sakura.

She did indeed felt better, and she wondered what type of magical healing powers Sakura used to make her feel like a new person. Most of the injuries on her body were gone, and she could feel her strength coming back to her.

The door opened again, revealing a beautiful blonde girl with long hair and a red-headed man right behind her. Watching as the two stood closely together, she immediately figured that they were together and smiled at how cute they looked.

"I apologize for the large audience while you heal," a blond woman with large breasts said, "My name is Tsunade and I am the Hokage of this village."

Mila gave her a confused look. "Hokage? Like a leader?"

Tsunade nodded slowly. "Yes, leader...head figure. This here is Gaara, and he is the Kazekage of his village."

"So, another leader?"

"Yes," Tsunade explained.

Mila nodded understandingly, looking at Gaara and seeing how young he looked despite being labeled a leader. She figured that wasn't a bad thing, as he still had a lot of room to grow in his duties and could see by his stance that he took the job seriously.

"Nice to meet you both," Mila said, "My name is Mila Rose Lavette. I come from the planet Sandhar. As you may be aware by now, I am a Traveler."

"We actually have a lot of questions, and I am sorry that they must be asked while you're still healing, but it is an impediment." Tsunade said.

"I understand. Hinata has explained to me some things already. Those men are dangerous; all they seek is power."

"Who are they?" Sakura asked. "They would appear around our village randomly… It's hard to keep track of them and those monsters they bring along."

"Hunters," Mila said, "those monsters are called Hunters. The men who try to control them are actually rebels from a nearby planet. We don't have a label for them, except for Rebels or Traitors."

"Hinata mentioned that they plan on attacking us, soon." Tsunade continued.

Mila nodded. "Yes, they are. And knowing how determined they are, they will."

"How do they get those monsters to appear?" Naruto asked, stepping forward. "They are their weapons!"

"Those monsters live in a dangerous deserted far away planet. They open portals to that planet and let those creatures out to wreak havoc."

"For what purpose?"

"They are homeless… These men don't belong to any planet anymore. Initially, they used my people's blood to open portals and escape justice. They studied our blood for years, and figured out a way to create portals with any female blood. However, their portals were unstable as non-Traveler's blood didn't have the key ingredient."

Tsunade remembered the three kunoichi that were to be rescued over a month ago. Now it made sense why those men kept them alive, draining their blood each day. But it still didn't explain how those men even appeared in the first place. She needed more answers.

"They are hard to track," Tsunade said, "At first, they were settled in a location not too far from here. But their location would move after some time, so it became difficult to find them again. And everytime they shifted, nothing seemed to remain."

"That's because they make sure not to leave anything behind." Mila said. "They do whatever they can to blend in with the setting and once it goes wrong, they leave and take everything with them to a point that erases all traceability of them."

"That's why we couldn't find that village again," Naruto said, looking at Tsunade. "When we went back, everything was gone...as if none of it ever existed."

"That is their signature," Mila told him, "they do it because they are still on the run from The Court. They are wanted for many heinous crimes. Therefore, they try not to leave anything behind."

"We need to figure out how to defeat them." Naruto said, his hand turning into a fist. Ever since Hinata had arrived, he hadn't left her side, afraid of one of those men appearing out of nowhere and taking her. It had gone to a point that even Lord Hiashi didn't question why the blonde loud mouth was in his mansion.

"They have a dangerous weapon," Hinata said before turning around to Gaara and Ino, "He's….He's planning on using it on you."

Ino frowned and looked at Gaara. She knew who Hinata was referring to, and it made her blood boil. She felt as if the man was never going to leave them alone. While Ino began to worry, Gaara stood with a neutral look on his face, and Ino wondered how he could not react to the news.

"What type of weapon is it?" Ino asked. She had to prepare.

"It shoots high beams of energy, and it's able to leave a great amount of damage," Mila replied. "It can easily burn through anything, even heavy steel. It's something to not be around. However, they only have one...such weapon is difficult to manufacture."

Ino closed her eyes as she thought about Gaara's sand and knew that if this weapon was this strong, then his sand would have no chance against it.

"How can we defeat them so they never come here again?" Tsunade asked, and Mila gave her a smile.

"There is one trick I have in mind, but I cannot do it alone. It requires immense power. Hinata did tell me that there's another Traveler here. Can you please bring her to me?"

* * *

As her mind began to gain consciousness, the sense of her body floating in space went away, and Tenten opened her eyes. Considering the heaviness of her eyelids, she knew that she must have been asleep for a long time. Her body felt sore for some reason, as if she had been running nonstop.

The sound of footsteps caused her to lift her head slightly and she quickly recognized those white pearly eyes. She wanted to smile and reach her hand out to him, but then remembered everything. Hinata was still missing, and she couldn't open a portal to save her.

As if seeing her distress, Neji walked over to her with a glass of water. Tenten stared at the glass with wide eyes, feeling her throat dry. Avoiding his gaze, she took the glass and drank the liquid, immediately feeling as if her body was coming back to life. She set the empty cup on the table beside her and looked away as she saw Neji sit on the bed.

There was an awkward silence between the two of them. Tenten wanted nothing more but to jump on his lap and hug him. She had missed him desperately. But yet again, she wasn't sure what was going through his mind, and-

Tenten flinched as she felt Neji's hand grab hers. His thumb traced her knuckles, and oh boy did stir up her emotions.

"Tenten,"

She turned her head to him, watching as he lifted his other hand and cupped her face. Their eyes locked as he placed a soft kiss on her lips. It wasn't a deep kiss, but it was enough to let her know that he still cared.

"I am sorry for not being there…"

Tenten bit her bottom lip nervously. "...I should have thought about my attack more-"

"No," Neji said, "You did nothing wrong with fighting back. We are ninjas, afterall."

"But Hinata is still missing! A-And I couldn't help her at the time."

"Lady Hinata has returned."

Tenten's eyes widened. "What? H-How? When?"

"Not too long ago, and through a portal. Someone helped her escape….another Traveler...like you."

Tenten sat up straight on the hospital bed at that last piece of information. A person just like her? That meant that she could finally get more answers on her abilities and where she truly comes from. Which meant she could finally piece together her past and try to figure out who her parents are.

"Where is this other person?" she asked hastily.

"In this same hospital, three rooms down. She was unconscious when they both fell out of the portal."

"Please take me to her." she begged, grabbing his arm.

Giving her a nod, Neji stood up and watched as she pushed the sheets away and stood on trembling legs. She combed her loose strands with her fingers and re-adjusted her white tank-top. Taking advantage of the moment, Neji grabbed the back of her head and pulled her closer, sealing her lips with his.

Tenten froze at the unexpected action, but soon found herself wrapping her arms around his neck and returning the kiss. She couldn't remember the last time they kissed this passionately, but she missed the way his hands would sneak underneath her shirt and massage her back. Part of her wanted to jump and wrap her legs around his waist, while he pinned her against the wall. But her fantasy was soon shattered as Neji pulled back, and Tenten saw how tense his eyes were. Oh, he wanted that too.

"Let's go."

He grabbed her hand and led her out of the room. She mentally counted the doors and her heart beat faster as she saw the third door opened, hearing Naruto's voice from within. Their pace slowed as they quietly entered the room. Gaara, Ino, Sakura, Naruto, Hinata, and Lady Tsunade all stood around the bed, blocking Tenten's view of the person.

Hinata was the first person to notice them and with a bright smile, she ran towards Tenten and gave her a hug. Tenten hugged her friend back.

"I'm g-glad you-re okay, Tenten!"

Tenten raised an eyebrow at her. "Me? It was you I was worried about! Did they hurt you?"

Hinata shook her head. "No, they barely paid attention to me. Mila Rose helped me escape."

Grabbing her hand, Hinata led Tenten around the room and in front of the woman's hospital bed. Tenten stared at the woman sitting in front of her. Mila smiled back at her.

"It's like I'm seeing a ghost…" Mila said, causing Tenten to tilt her head in confusion. "You look just like your mother."

The room went silent, the only noise heard was Tenten's loud exhales.

"We should give them some privacy," Lady Tsunade said, and the rest of them began to exit the room.

"Neji," Tenten whispered, causing him to stop in front of the door. "Please stay."

The Hyuga prodigy closed the door and then stood besides Tenten. He eyed the woman in front of them and noticed how her pale thin fingers trembled. He then glanced at Tenten and saw her tense posture, and figured that whatever this woman was about to say was probably not good.

"I guess I should start," Mila said, clearing her throat. "My name is Mila Rose and I was the one who first brought you to this place...on your mother's request."

"My mother told you to bring me here? Why? Was it because of those men?"

Mila nodded. "Yes. Tenten, those men...they've been hunting our people for ages. Our blood is rich to them because it helps them move from location to location without any trace."

It all began to make sense to her now; why they were so adamant on taking her blood.

"Where's my mother now? Do those men have her?" If they did, then Tenten knew what she had to do. She was already aware of the portal she had mistakenly opened earlier when Ino and Sakura were healing her hand. Her gift was there, she just needed more time to unwrap it. She could open a portal and save her mother.

Mila shook her head, frowning. "I'm so sorry Tenten, but your mother passed away shortly after you were born. Before her death, she begged me to run away with you. I...I couldn't save her… she had lost a lot of blood."

Tenten felt her eyes become watery as Neji's hand grabbed her arm softly for support. "Was she kidnapped by them? If she told you to escape with me, then where were you?"

Mila closed her eyes, remembering that night. "We, along with more of our people, had been captured by them. Your mother became pregnant while imprisoned and she knew that if you were to be raised in such a horrible place, those men would have used you for your blood at such young age. She didn't want you to suffer the same fate as her. The day she gave birth, there was a large fight and your mother was too weak to escape. So she placed you in my arms and told me to take you somewhere very far away from their reach and to leave you there, even if it meant you never knowing about the gift that flows through your blood."

Tenten exhaled as her tears began to roll down her face. "Wh-What about my father? I-Is...he alive?"

Mila paused and bit her bottom lip, and Tenten suddenly felt afraid of what the woman would say. Was he dead too? Was he killed while trying to save her mother?

"Your father...is alive… But…"

"But what?" Tenten asked, unknowingly grabbing Neji's arm tightly.

Mila was suddenly sobbing, her thin hands trembling as she wiped her tears away. She began to sniff while clearing her throat, but the memories of that night were still as clear as water.

"Tenten, our people...were raped there ...repeatedly...and many of us became pregnant...and your mother was constantly raped...and she became pregnant… Tenten, I am so sorry… But the man who impregnated your mother is one of them...He belongs to those who hunt us…"

She was a rape baby. A byproduct of rape. And the man was still alive. Tenten wasn't sure what to feel. Her mother was dead, and she was taken from her within minutes. Her mother probably never even had the chance to name her. Her father… Should she even refer to him as father? That man was alive…

"Tenten," Mila continued, "your...the man...he will be there."

"Wh-Where?" Tenten asked between sobs.

"They are planning on attacking us," Neji replied, "Lady Tsunade has already prepared a plan."

Tenten nodded even though his words didn't register through her brain, as it was so preoccupied with the fact that her "father" was alive and was the one who got her mother pregnant...with her.

"Tenten," Mila called her again, "I know this is a lot to take in, and you'll need some time to digest it all...but they are planning on attacking here again. Now, in order to keep your village safe from any future attacks, there's a technique you and I can do to keep them away forever. However, we must be haste and I must teach you this right away."

Tenten nodded sadly, reminding herself that she was a strong kunoichi. Konoha may not have been her birth place, but it was the place where she learned how to fight and how to love. Father….rapist…. it didn't matter what she would call him. She would do everything in her power to defeat them and keep her village safe. Nonetheless, Tenten began to feel something she has rarely felt throughout her life, and that was revenge.

* * *

Ino gazed out the closed window, watching the bright moon shine down on the quiet streets of her village. She knew that she should be sleeping right now - they had a big fight ahead of them soon. But the thought of Victor appearing through a portal with the machine Hinata had described kept her awake. She could already see his sick smirk while approaching her. The man was her devil, and she worried that she would never be able to get rid of him.

"You should be asleep."

Ino shuddered as she felt Gaara's breath by her ear, giving her goosebumps. She wasn't sure if she would ever get used to him sneaking up on her like that.

"I can't sleep," Ino replied, allowing her body to lean against his as his arms wrapped her from behind.

"You are worried about tomorrow." Gaara stated and placed a kiss on the side of her neck. "I will protect you, Ino." He said between kisses, placing his hand on her bare thigh beneath her short white nightgown.

He pulled her even closer to him, his hand now resting on her stomach as he lowered the strap of her nightgown from her shoulder and began to trail soft kisses there. He had analyzed everything Mila Rose had said, and knew that this was finally his opportunity to end Ino's torment from that man. Gaara had already accepted the fact that even if he were to perish as well, he would at least make sure that the blonde kunoichi in his arms would be out of Victor's grasp forever. That's how much the boisterous Ino Yamanaka meant to him; the woman who was able to quiet his inner demons and show him how tender and magical being in love could be. No, he wouldn't let Victor touch her ever again.

Gaara raised his head and pulled his hand out from underneath her nightgown before turning her around swiftly, his faint eyebrows furrowing as he saw tears running down her face. Ino's eyes were closed shut and her shoulders were trembling, and for a moment he wondered if maybe he went too far.

"I….I d-don't want to lose you," Ino said rapidly through sobs, "I CAN'T lose you! I can't let him kill you… I WON'T let him take you away from me!"

Gaara looked at her for a moment before cupping her face with his hands and wiping the tears away. Here he was, thinking about not letting that man near her and in the same moment, she was crying about him being taken away from her.

"Ino, you won't lose me…" he said.

She opened her blue eyes and stared into his teal ones. She lifted her hand and traced a finger over the red tattoo on his forehead. No, she would not lose him… The past was the past… and she knew that they had to be ready in order for a better future.

"Make love to me, Gaara…" Ino whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck as he grabbed the back of her thighs. He lifted her up as her legs wrapped around his waist. Their lips met in a heated kiss as he lead them towards the bed and gently laid her down with him on top. Yes, Ino Yamanaka wouldn't lose him - he would make sure of that.

* * *

They were miles away from the village, something Mila Rose had suggested them to do in order to ensure that the village was not under any immediate danger. Lady Tsunade stayed behind in Konoha as the small army already had Gaara taking charge. There was no need to have two kages for the battle.

Gaara stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest as Shikamaru, Tenten, Neji, Naruto, and Mila Rose stood quietly behind him. Behind them stood everyone else, faces neutral. It was very early in the morning as they stood in the middle of the open field.

"He'll be OK," Chouji whispered, placing a gentle hand on Ino's shoulder.

The blonde kunoichi nodded at him before looking back at Gaara, hating the fact that he had to be at the very front. She knew that he was the perfect person to take lead in such a fight, but she was still human and she couldn't help but be scared for him. She still felt the soreness from last night's love making, and wanted nothing more than to feel his body one more time. Taking a deep breath to control her anxiety, she looked around and looked at Tenten, watching as the woman named Mila Rose whispered something into her ear. Ino had never seen Tenten so stressed out before. Emotional? Yes. But not stressed and somewhat...scared, and Ino immediately wondered what the woman had told her friends.

A rough breeze suddenly swirled around all of them, causing a few of the shinobis to become tense. The trees swayed back and forth as the wind picked up even more. At first, there was nothing but the sound of leaves rustling. But suddenly, just a few yards away from them, blue particles began to form rapidly.

Ino swallowed as she watched the familiar pattern; blue particles suddenly become dense and circle around before revealing a dark matter. No one moved or said anything as they watched a hideous claw reached out from within the portal and out into the world.

* * *

Author's Note: Alright, and this concludes chapter 12. Thanks to the following for the reviews: **Esellyn** & **hannahzerofive**

I think I have 2 more chapters to go with this story before it concludes, and next chapter may be an even longer one where it would focus on 2 main things:  
1) The fight between Gaara, Ino, vs Victor. No, I am not going to make it simple and sweet.  
2)The fight Tenten will have & her reaction to seeing her "father".

Anyway, please leave me a review. Let me know what you think of this chapter! What was your reaction to learning about Tenten's parentage?

Please review!


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: This chapter has been re-written. Sorry if there are any typos :) **

It felt as if the world was spinning. She wasn't sure why though, but there was a ringing sound in her ears, the type of ringing that made her want to cover them. Ino lifted her head up a little bit, groaning as the dizziness got worse. Panic swelled through her body as she felt her arms and legs become extremely numb.

"Now now, don't move too fast. You'll just open up that wound even more."

What wound?

Opening her eyes, Ino looked up and saw how the sky was almost pitch black. The tree branches above her were bare, causing her to wonder for a moment if something had plucked all of the leaves out. The coolness of the night caused her to groan uncomfortably again, her blue eyes closing tightly. Why was her head still spinning?

"You're cold."

Ino's eyes opened quickly, the familiarity of the voice causing chills down her spine. Victor…

Panicking, the blonde Kunoichi began to move but something stiff by her abdomen stopped her.

"I said not to move too much," Victor said, his hand caressing her bare stomach.

"Don't...touch...me."

Victor laughed before leaning down and grabbing her face forcibly, causing her to groan in pain.

"Your boy hasn't arrived yet," the man said, grabbing the weak Kunoichi by her shoulders and lifting her off the ground. "The hunters must be shredding him into pieces."

Ino glared at the man in front of her even though his tight grip on her shoulders was what stopped her from collapsing on the ground. She could feel her hair spread all around her face, which meant that at some point her usual high ponytail had been undone. Slowly, she could feel her senses coming to her and with that came the sudden pain in her abdomen. Groaning, she looked down and gasped upon seeing blood by her stomach and looking back up at her enemy, she recalled everything.

_The battle had started not too long ago; the darkness quickly engulfing the whole area. The loud thump of the Hunters running around caused the Shinobis to retreat back. Nonetheless, they knew that such dark fog would arise; it was the perfect way to falter's the ninjas' attacks. However, they had also underestimated the strength of a couple of them. Wasting no time, Sasuke had quickly used his fireball jutsu to burn a good amount of the Hunters as they were coming out of the portals. _

_For a while, things seemed to be on their side until portals began to open from all over the area, making it harder for Ino to figure out from where the next attack would occur. Despite the darkness, she knew that she would take her chances and look for Gaara; however, that plan was quickly scratched as she had heard a loud groan from behind. Turning around, her eyes widened as she saw one of the Hunter's claws impale Chouji from his stomach. It hadn't been a regular stab either; the monster's entire arm had gone through her friend's body. It had sneered at Chouji but before it was able to harm her friend, Ino had quickly attacked it. _

_She had known that her chances of winning against the thing were small, but seeing Chouji's pale face caused an anger within her that she couldn't control. _

_Upon sensing her presence, the Hunter threw Chouji to the side and faced her before extending its bloody arm towards her…_

Ino shuddered again, feeling a cold breeze hit her. Unlike before, she was quickly able to sense her surroundings and was shocked to see that there was no darkness. Instead, it was bright and sunny… But it wasn't the same daylight that she was used to. No, this was different….

"Well, looks like you woke up earlier than anticipated."

Blinking several times, Ino sat up and saw Victor walking in circles around her. His stare was intense with arms behind his back. But the Kunoichi didn't let that get to her. She glared back at him.

"This is not Konoha. Wh-Where am I?"

Victor laughed as he stopped walking, this time standing right in front of her. "Smart girl you are, Ino Yamanaka. We are not in Konoha. I have brought you to a different location."

The atmosphere seemed different, and something that confused her even more was the fact that there were two suns instead of one. Fear began to swell in her chest as the thought of her being in a different world went through her mind.

"Take me back to Konoha." she quickly said, her hands trembling against the unfamiliar grass.

Victor laughed as he crouched in front of her. Ino shifted back slightly as his head came dangerously close to hers.

"But my dear, Konoha isn't that far from here. Just turn around and see for yourself."

For a second, she pondered whether to follow his actions or not. But upon hearing what sounded like battle noise, Ino slowly turned her head and gasped. Not too far behind her, maybe a couple of yards away, was a large portal. But it wasn't the portal that shocked her; it was the fact that she could see the dark environment of the battlefield; the shinobis fighting those beasts. She could see Konoha.

Despite the man's proximity towards her, Ino crawled away from him and stood on shaking legs. The pain in her abdomen arose again and looking down, she noticed the falling bandages. Her wound was still bleeding and her chakra was low.

"And where do you think you're going?"

Ino yelped as Victor grabbed her hair and pulled her back forcibly. Her back hit his chest as the man lowered his head and whispered in her ear, his fist still grabbing her hair.

"Did you seriously think that I was going to let you go?"

The blonde girl winced loudly as he continued to pull her hair while speaking his next sinister words.

"I want him to come," he said, and Ino knew that he was referring to Gaara. Victor let out a chuckle, pulling a syringe from behind and swiftly injecting her with a red liquid.

Ino tensed as she felt the needle by her neck, memories of when her and Tenten being trapped underground with needles attached to their bodies coming back to her head. Her vision began to blur as she heard the man's next words.

"I'm going to make your nightmare come true," he said as he started to lay her numbing body on the ground.

Ino whimpered as she tried to fight off the numbness, but knew that would be impossible. Victor hovered over her body, placing a soft kiss on her lips.

"Don't worry, it won't be right away. I am going to wait for him to come."

Ino gasped loudly for air as she felt her throat compress. The next set of words caused her to panic even more as darkness began to take over.

"I'm going to wait for him, that way he can see what I am about to do to you."

The next hour felt like an eternity, but by the time she regained consciousness, Ino gasped suddenly and loudly as she felt cold water on her face, some of it going into her nostrils. As she coughed loudly, she heard Victor laugh as he walked around her.

"See, told you she was still alive! Did you seriously think I was going to kill her?"

Although she felt slightly disoriented, Ino was well aware that he was not talking to her. Her eyesight was still blurry as she became more conscious of the fact that she was on her hands and knees and right in front of her was a body of water. Her wet hair was spread around her back and shoulders, the ends touching the ground. Before she was able to lift her head up and see who he was talking to, Victor grabbed her hair and raised her to her feet, causing the Kunoichi to shut her eyes tightly and wince in pain.

"Is this enough proof for you?" Victor asked, and Ino opened her eyes.

A gasp of relief escaped from her as she saw Gaara standing not too far from them. His gaze met hers, and although his facial expression remained neutral, Ino knew that Gaara was coming up with a plan. One thing she admired about him was that he barely portrayed emotions in a battle.

"You want to kill me, correct?" Gaara asked, his gaze back at the man.

"Yes, and I want her to watch." Victor said with a cruel smile.

Ino didn't say anything as she took notice of Gaara's bloodied right hand and the fact that his gourd was not present on his back. Fear quickly took over her body as she wondered how Gaara was even going to fight. He must have fought several of those Hunters before finding her.

"Then let her go,"

"Why of course. But first," Turning Ino's head to the side, Victor placed a kiss on her lips before throwing her harshly onto the ground. "I just had to have a taste of her first."

Ino spat on the ground and wiped her lips with the back of her hand, glaring up at Victor. "You will die…"

The man laughed at her threat while taking a few steps closer to Gaara. Not paying mind to her, he looked straight at the red-head in front of him. "Why don't we do this old school style?" he said while pulling out a long sword. "It's been a long time since I've used this beauty!"

Ino's eyebrows furrowed as she stared at Gaara worryingly. He carried no sword. However, his next actions surprised her as she saw Gaara's sand armor suddenly leave his body and take the shape of a sword.

"Nice trick," he said, before turning his head back towards Ino, "Now watch me kill him, darling."

* * *

Tenten had her eyes on him the moment he had exited the portal. She had remembered the description Mila Rose had given her of the man who Tenten refused to call father.

She knew that Neji had sensed her desire for revenge, but at this moment she did not care. This was her only chance to confront the man and ask him all of her questions.

He stood close to six-feet tall with brown shoulder-length hair. In the midst of chaos and destruction, he stood calm with a strange looking large weapon hanging from his shoulder. Unlike the other strange men, his white uniform looked different and Tenten wondered if maybe he was their leader.

Walking over to him with her heart beating fast in anticipation, Tenten blocked the noise around her. For those couple of minutes, she forgot about the deadly creatures running wildly around her. For some odd reason, the man stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest and upon turning his head, Tenten stopped with a gasp. To say that she looked like him was an understatement. His brown eyes, just like hers, scanned the area with a deadly look in them and Tenten quickly knew that he was strong; someone to not take lightly.

Tenten found it strange that he stood still as he observed the chaos around him. She wondered if he was glad about the casualty that his men were causing. Gulping, she continued to walk towards him.

The man turned his head again, this time finally taking notice of the Kunoichi.

Tenten stopped in her tracks again as she stared wide-eyed at him. What should she call him? How should she call him? Years and years of seeing her female peers call their fathers different names: papa, dad, father….

Her mind running through multiple thoughts distracted her from the danger that was around her. With her eyes still wide and heart beating fast, the Kunoichi didn't notice how her father raised the weapon in his hands and pointed it towards her…

In that instant, her mind blanked as the white light quickly approached her.

Neji knew Tenten's determination. Whenever she wanted to accomplish something, she would set her mind to it and do it. She was never one to sit around and allow others to do it for her. She works hard for her accomplishes, and doesn't stop. It's one of the things he loves about her…

Nonetheless, her new determination was a dangerous one. Even though she didn't tell him anything, he knew what she was thinking. He knew that before the battle ended, she would confront the man who fathered her. The man who could have actually acted as a father and been there for her.

The moment the man exited his own portal and stood there, simply watching the chaos around him, Neji knew that this man was to be taken seriously. And that hypothesis was proven to be true the moment he raised his weapon towards Tenten and fired, causing Neji to use everything within him to get to her on time.

Seconds before the white blast could have obliterated her, Neji wrapped his arms around her and shifted to the side, the blast missing them by just inches.

After rolling on the ground several times, Neji helped Tenten to her feet and cupped her face with his hands.

"What were you thinking?!"

"I needed to see him! I needed to talk to him!"

"Tenten, he was ready to kill you. He's the enemy."

"I know," she said, nodding her head, "But before killing him, I want him to look at me and know exactly who I am."

The Hyuga prodigy stared at her for a couple of seconds, Byakugan still on. Although her plan was a dangerous one, he knew that this would be the only time she would be able to converse with one of her parents, even if he was the enemy. He knew that if she did not get this chance, it will never come again and she would live the rest of her life with regret. Nodding slightly, Neji grabbed her hand.

"Very well, but you are not leaving my side."

Smiling, she squeezed his hand. "I won't."

Together, the couple ran towards the man just as he was about to fire his weapon again towards other Shinobis.

Acting quickly, Tenten manifested a couple of her Kunais from a small scroll and hurled them towards him. The weapons landed around him in a circle, the final kunai purposely scraping his left arm and leaving a small cut. The man lowered his weapon and turned around, keeping a calm demeanor as the two ninjas approached him. Looking at the shorter one, the girl, his eyes narrowed.

"Looks like you survived my attack," the man said, "However, I find it foolish that you are trying to engage in a fight with me knowing that I can kill you both without having to be near either of you."

Tenten bit her bottom lip as she tried to form her words. How should she start? He was looking directly at her, and suddenly, his eyes narrowed, as if searching for something within her. His gaze went to her right hand, watching as small but visible blue particles began to swarm around it.

"You have the gift, yet you wear the same uniform as everyone-" He stopped speaking as everything dawned on him. His comrades had told him how Mila Rose had escaped from captivity, and how they knew that she would be coming to this land. They had also told him how they had found a Traveler in this land. This must be the girl, and if his instincts were correct…

"You must the child Mila Rose escaped with years ago," he said, watching as the girl's eyes widened. Ah, yes.

"H-How?"

"Our resemblance is uncanny, even though I can see your mother's features as well."

Tenten's eyes widened. _"He remembers my mother?"_

"You-You...raped her. That's how I was conceive, right!?"

The man looked at her for a second before shaking his head disapprovingly. "Is that what that red-headed witch told you? That I raped your mother? Did she also tell you that I was the one who helped her and your mother escape right before you were born? Who do you think bought Mila Rose time to escape with you?"

* * *

"Did you see that light?!" yelled Naruto as his clones continued to fight the creatures.

"It must be the weapon that Mila was talking about!" Sakura replied back as she tended to Kiba's wounds.

As soon as the battle had started, Sakura created an area for the wounded Shinobis and as far away from the pitch black darkness as possible. Sasuke's fireball jutsu had provided some light for her, which helped her in aiding. Eventually though, the wounded became too much and she needed Ino's help. Considering Naruto's clones were throughout the area, Sakura had asked her friend to search for the Kunoichi. While waiting, more gravely injured ninjas were dropped off at her small station, causing the pink-haired girl to begin panicking.

There were too many…

"What the… Chouji!"

Sakura jumped at Kiba's shout, turning around and gasping at the sight in front of her. Three of Naruto's clones carried a gravely injured Chouji. Right in the center, below his chest and above his abdomen, was a nasty wound and if Sakura's analysis of it was correct, something had gone through the boy's body. Chouji's head was down, and as Naruto's clones placed him down gently by her, Sakura feared that he was dead. As Shikamaru quickly appeared beside her, watching his unconscious teammate with wide eyes, she took Chouji's pulse and sighed in relief.

"He...he still has a pulse! But this wound…" The pulse was small, but it was still there…

"Don't worry about the others, Sakura," Kiba said while limping towards her, "Focus on Chouji!"

"I will! But has anyone seen Ino? I need her help!"

Shikamaru shook his head while watching as Sakura began to cover Chouji's wound with bandages. "I was hoping she would be here with you."

"Would Gaara know where she is? Where's Gaara?" Sakura asked, her hands shaking as she concentrated all of her remaining chakra on the wound.

Before Shikamaru could replied, Temari appeared next to him, her eyes wide. "Gaara went after Ino! She was taken!"

"By Who?"

"...By him…" Sakura replied in fear, thinking about the cruel man in white who had been tormenting with Ino's mind for over a month now.

* * *

Although his hand was injured, Ino watched as Gaara effortlessly swung the sand-made sword in order to deflect Victor's attacks. Initially, the man in white assumed that Gaara's weapon wouldn't last long due to its material. Nonetheless, he quickly misjudged the fact that the sand behind the sword was infused with chakra, thus making the weapon deadlier and stronger.

As Victor made a cut by his left arm, Gaara's sword turned to smaller particles of sand before forming into another sharp weapon and wrapping around the man's right arm. The man's eyes widened as he quickly saw the sand compress in-command of Gaara's hand movement, causing his right arm to be amputated.

A painful scream escaped the man's lips as he gripped his arm, blood dripping onto the ground.

"Y-You… You...bastard! You will pay for this!"

"No," Gaara said, the sand-sword re-forming in his hand, "You will pay for everything you've done to her."

While Victor tried to fight Gaara with just one arm, Ino used a large rock as support. The wound by her stomach was still bleeding and she knew that if she didn't close it, she could get an infection and bleed to death. Unfortunately for her though, her chakra was very low and although her injury was serious, she preferred to save whatever chakra she had left for Gaara. Even though the Kazekage had the upper hand, Ino still worried. Even if Victor was only fighting with one arm, the man wouldn't fall back…

Ino knew that she had to do something, she couldn't let Gaara do this alone. And while she stood on trembling legs, an idea struck her. Yes, she would torture him the same way he has tortured her-

"Aaah!" Ino fell back down as a sharp pain was felt by her back. It was like nothing she had ever experienced. Blood quickly dripped down her back.

"What did you do!?"

Victor laughed while showing the weapon to him. "It's called a gun, and I doubt it's something you've ever seen before."

Gaara's eyes were wide with shock as he saw blood dripping down her back.

"This one is a little different though," Victor continued, staring at the weapon with one hand, "It has a silencer, so it won't make a sound when firing. Here, let me show you."

The man pressed something again, and before the Kazekage could comprehend what was firing off, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. There was a small opening on his exterior armour, and Gaara watched as his blood slowly dripped down from it. His heart began to beat faster as his chest compressed, suddenly making it harder for him to breathe.

"Looks like the bullet hit close to your heart," Victor said, limping towards the injured red-head. "Such a shame I missed. But no worries… I can fix that."

Victor raised his gun again, but suddenly froze. His eyes were wide and although he tried to move, he realized he couldn't.

Noticing how frozen in place he was, Gaara turned and saw Ino on the ground with her eyes closed. Immediately, he knew what was going on. She had used her mind transfer jutsu to take control of the enemy.

_"You...You're inside my mind!" _

_"Y-Yes... I ...am!" Ino said between gasps. Her chakra was dangerously low, but this was her only chance to defeat this man. _

_"H-How? What weapon are you using to do this!? I just shot you!"_

_"My mind," Ino said, raising her arm, which caused Victor's lone arm to raise as well, "is my weapon"._

_"Wh-What are you doing?"_

_The kunoichi didn't respond, instead opening her mouth and placing her fist towards it. Understanding what she was about to do, Victor began to scream._

_"No no no! Don't you fucking dare! I swear I will somehow come back and kill you! I will fucking kill you! I will-"_

BANG!

Gaara flinched slightly as he saw a small hole appear on the man's forehead, blood quickly flowing down his head and pieces of his skull spilling from behind. The small weapon in his hand, which was pointed towards his own head just a few seconds ago, dropped to the ground. Eyes closed the moment the trigger was pulled and Victor's lifeless body fell onto the ground.

Groaning while keeping his hand to his chest, Gaara quickly walked over to Ino. The wound in his chest made it harder for him to breathe, but he knew that he had to get to her. He knew that her clan's signature jutsu could be dangerous when the user was low on chakra. He mentally prayed that she was okay; that her mind had gotten out before pulling that trigger.

Dropping onto his knees beside her, Gaara cupped Ino's face. "Ino, wake up. Open your eyes."

Her eyes fluttered open before meeting his worried gaze. A small smile appeared on her lips as she touched one of his hands. "We did it… He's gone…"

"...That was dangerous,"

"But...it worked…" Ino said before looking at his bleeding chest. "You're wounded…"

"...I...will be fine…"

"How do we get out of here?" Ino asked, "this is not Konoha. I don't know where we are."

"I think...we are in a different world," Gaara replied, his body becoming weaker by each second. Taking deeper breaths, he laid down next to her, using one arm to hug her form. "He purposely left a portal opened for me to come through. But he left it heavily guarded by those things."

And now, that portal was nowhere to be seen.

Ino could feel her consciousness going and weakly, she turned her head towards her lover, her heart breaking as she saw him having difficulty breathing. They were truly alone now, weak and injured in a world neither of them knew about. And most importantly, how to escape from it.

"Ino…"

"Y-Yes?"

"...Marry...me…"

After several seconds of silence, Gaara opened his eyes to look at her, tears forming in his eyes as he saw hers already closed.

* * *

"What is your name?" the man asked, watching as his daughter looked at the ground nervously.

"Tenten…"

"Nice to meet you then, Tenten… my daughter. My name is Jacob."

"Why are you doing all of this? Why are you and your men kidnapping people and hurting them if you truly did help my mom escape?"

Jacob's smile disappeared as he began to walk towards her. "Tenten, my dear, you have no idea how endangered my people are. How every day, we are being tracked by foreign governments. What we are doing is for survival!"

"That still doesn't give you the right to murder people. Why are foreign governments after you? And did that justify raping my mother!?"

"It's a complicated story-"

"I want to know! I want to know everything!"

Jacob looked at his daughter, saw the determination in her eyes. Could he blame her? Not really. He knew that the girl barely knew anything about him, her mother, and the type of world they come from.

"Instead of telling you, I can show you."

Jacob took out a small device and pressed a button. A portal immediately opened, but instead of Hunters coming out from it, unfamiliar objects were seen. Tenten stared at the scene in front of her, not sure what to make of it. She could see stars and the night sky, but everything else seemed strange and unusual.

"Wh-What is… what is this?"

"What I'm showing you right now is part of the world your mother and I come from. Where we come from, none of the things you've been exposed to exists. There's no ninja ...or chakra. But what we have are weapons capable of destroying planets. And these flying objects you see are ships."

"Flying...ships?"

Jacob sighed and walked towards her. "My daughter, you have so much to learn. There is more out there for you than anyone in this world can give you. Come with me. I will show you and teach you everything about the place you truly belong to."

Her father extended his gloved hand towards her, and Tenten stared at it. The battle noise from all around her suddenly muted itself in her head as she thought about her future. For years, she wondered about her parentage, her past. Where did she come from? And the past truly did affect the future. Had she belonged to a clan, she could have been head of some clan. Maybe even a fearless princess. And while she truly loved Neji, she knew that the Hyuga clan had its strict rules, even if Neji's uncle was starting to fully accept her. Even if she married into the Hyuga clan, what would that mean to her? Would she have to become some "substitute Hyuga" and try to become one of them, all while forgetting who she could become?

"What do you say, Tenten? With you by my side, we can restore faith in my people…" Jacob began to walk towards her again, his facial expression softening. " You can help us fight back and I can cease this battle right now. You know that this battle is not what either of us want. You can help end it right now."

Just as he was almost two feet away from her, Neji stepped in front of her, causing the man to stop. "You must be the boyfriend…"

"Don't take any more steps,"

"And here I thought you were just blind," the man said, raising his weapon again, "Tell me, son, how much do you love her? Hm? Is it enough to allow her to blossom into her own person? Is it enough to let her go in order for her to truly see where her parents come from."

"You were the one who assaulted her own mother. You're just trying to manipulate her."

"Tenten, my dear," Jacob said, glancing back at his daughter, who stared at the ground almost uncertainly. "Do you always let this boy speak on your behalf? Or are you going to start following what your heart truly-"

"What lies are you telling her!?"

The trio turned their heads as Mila Rose walked towards them with Hinata closely behind.

Jacob chuckled. "And here's the witch… Tell me, Mila, did you tell her about how you and her mother came to us willingly? How you come to us for help? How we were once allies!?"

Tenten's eyes quickly darted towards the red-haired woman, eyebrows furrowing. Her heart beat faster as she watched the woman look down before looking back at her.

"Tenten…. it was a different time…"

"Have you been lying to me?" the Weapon's Mistress asked.

The woman shook her head. "I have not lied about what I've told you so far."

"So far?!"

"B-But...there is more to the backstory."

Jacob frowned while shaking his head. "Mila, I am disappointed in you… Lying to my daughter. If you truly want to turn her against me, her father, you should've done a better job with your lies."

"I have not lied! I was the one who brought her here…. In order to save her from you!"

"Save her from me?!" Jacob took a few steps closer to Mila now, prompting Hinata to pull out a kunai and stand in front of the woman. "I was the one who helped you two escape! Tenten would have been dead before even leaving her mother's womb if it wasn't for me killing one of my own men! Or… is that something you forgot?"

Mila didn't reply, feeling the heat rise to her face as Tenten stared at them back and forth. She closed her eyes for a moment, remembering the last few words coming from her best friend's mouth just moments before death: take my daughter far away from here. And while yes, Jacob had saved them a couple of times throughout their imprisonment, he still had raped and murdered more people than Tenten could imagine. In the end, she couldn't let the man manipulate her.

"Oh I didn't forget. Just like how I didn't forget how you raped and tortured women almost every day! I remember because I was the one who helped them get cleaned up afterwards! How about you tell your daughter more about that? Maybe she has some siblings out there that she should know about!"

Something inside Jacob snapped, his eyes suddenly narrowing and nostrils flaring as he pulled out a small weapon and aimed it towards her. The rest happened faster than Tenten could register. One moment, Hinata was in front of Mila and the next, Neji had jumped in front of both women.

And although whatever came out of the weapon was small, the loud pop caused Tenten to scream as she watched blood suddenly appear on Neji's shoulder. She ran frantically towards him, watching as he placed a shaking hand on his right shoulder. The blood soaked his uniform quickly, and Tenten turned around to glare at the man responsible for such action.

"What did you do to him?!"

"It's called a gun," he said, "He shouldn't have gotten in the way…."

Before Tenten could yell back at him, a loud roar was heard. The dark fog around them shifted around, and with that, they saw a large Hunter entering slowly from the portal. The beast stood extremely tall with large tentacles hanging from its face.

Naruto and Sasuke immediately raced towards it, combining their Rasengan and Chidori in order to bring down the large beast.

Upon being blasted by the large amount of energy, the creature let out a fowl cry as it stumbled a few feet back. Nonetheless, it was not enough to bring it down, something the surrounding Shinobis realized upon the creature letting out another cry, this time with much more force. The ground shook violently, causing rifts to form. Suddenly, the Hunter began to charge towards a large crowd of Shinobi, its tremendous speed catching all of them by surprise as they stood helplessly before being thrown around violently.

"Don't just stand there! Get out of the way! Bring the injured over here!" yelled Sakura as she helped an injured ninja stand up. She led the injured towards her small area where she continued to treat the wounded.

Tenten, who was now crouched by Neji's right side, looked back at her father.

"Wh-Where are you going!?"

The man, who had opened a portal for himself and stood with half of his body in, glanced back at her. "This is not my battle, Tenten. It's Victor's. We may not be on the same side, but I do not wish to harm you."

The loud growl from the beast made her turn her head quickly. She saw Sakura's panic stricken facial expression as the pink-haired kunoichi stared down at the deceased ninjas with tears rolling down her face. Next to the pile of the deceased was Chouji, who was wrapped in multiple bandages around his torso. He looked pale, his chest very slowly going up and down. Where was Ino? Tenten knew that if they kept going, they would all eventually become as wounded as Chouji (if not worse). She could see the fatigue in her friend's face as she continued to stand there, her chakra low as more bodies began to pile up. And although she couldn't see Ino anywhere, she also knew that Gaara wasn't in the area either. And with Chouji, who had been standing right by Ino's side right before the battle started, critically injured, Tenten knew that something else must have happened.

"I will go with you!" she said, turning back towards her father. "Please end this! I will go with you!"

Mila Rose, Hinata, and Neji looked at her dumbfoundingly, but Tenten continued to glance at the man. There was a long pause before Jacob shook his head.

"No."

"But why?"

"Tenten, there is a lot that you must know, and putting you in that position right now can get you and me killed. You have no idea how other worlds work. There is so much out there that you are entitled to, but things are dangerous. You may be a Traveler, but you are my daughter… and these governments that are after me may not be kind to a girl your age."

"My friends are dying! At least take these monsters back!" Tenten pleaded, watching as Sasuke, Naruto, and Shikamaru were thrown roughly on the ground.

Jacob didn't reply, instead reaching into his pocket before pulling something small out. Afraid it was another weapon, Neji stood in front of her protectively.

"Relax, I am not going to harm her. I am just going to give her this." On the palm of his hand was a ring with a green round marble on top. "My father gave me this when I was very young. When the time comes, you will call me… and I will come. But not today."

"But the monsters-"

"You can save your friends today, Tenten. However, I will be waiting on the other side for when you need me."

And with that, the man fully entered the portal, closing it immediately. Tenten gaped at the leftover blue particles that circulated the area, feeling defeated and once again alone. Her father, who was also a war criminal, just told her that when she truly needed him, that he would be there. Looking down at the ring more closely, she noticed strange carvings on it. Just who exactly was this man? And if he was right about her mother going willingly to him first, then why rape her afterwards? Nothing made sense, and the uncertainty caused anger to swell within the kunoichi.

"Tenten…." Neji's soft voice broke her train of thought as he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, "We need to finish this."

Tenten nodded as Mila Rose walked over to her. Placing the ring safely inside her pocket, the Kunoichi gave a serious glance at the red-haired woman.

"Once we're done, you need to tell me _everything_. Is that clear?"

The woman paused for a moment before nodding. "...Y-Yes… but some things…. you may not like."

"I don't care. I deserve to know everything. Now, let's get started with this."

"Very well. Now, for us to do this, you need to concentrate carefully like we practiced before. Close your eyes, and clear your mind."

Tenten did as told, closing her chocolate-brown eyes and calming her breathing.

"Now, concentrate all of your energy in your hands… and when you do… you'll see a blue light… keep your eyes closed. But don't worry, you'll still see it."

Tenten tried her best to remain calm while concentrating everything she had on her hands, all while listening to the sound of dying creatures near her. Although her eyes were closed, she could still see a bright blue light forming.

"Do you see it? Do you see the light?"

"Yes…"

"Good. Make it bigger… make it stronger…"

And she did. With her eyes still closed, she saw the blue light grow thicker and felt it grow stronger. She felt her hands become hot and shake, but she continued to hold Mila's hands. A colossal gust of wind was felt, almost knocking her over and quickly, Tenten opened her eyes. Looking up, the Kunoichi gasped as a large portal opened above them, sucking nothing but the Hunters and the dark fog.

"H-How?"

"While you focused on opening the portal, I concentrated on having it consume only those creatures. It was a trick your mother and I mastered as young girls before we got captured." Mila said sadly while thinking back to that time.

Tenten looked at her with shock and astonishment, imagining a young beautiful woman performing this action. Looking down, the kunoichi saw the same thick blue particle engulf their hands. Around them, the large gust of wind continued to pick up the creatures, violently sweeping them upwards into the sky and into the darkness of the portal.

Having the large Hunter removed proved to be the most difficult, considering its size and weight. The creature sat on the ground, as if holding on as the large gust of wind continued to sweep away the smaller Hunters. Nonetheless, its grip began to loosen as Naruto, Shikamaru, Temari, and Sasuke began to attack it again. As Sasuke managed to cut off one of its hands, Temari used her fan to add more strength to the already large wind. Letting out a hideous growl, the creature slowly entered the large portal, the thick fog going with it as well.

As soon as the thick fog was gone, Shinobis ran towards their comrades, hugging and laughing now that there was finally light again. A few of the men in white remained, all of which were attained by Naruto's clones.

"Start doing a headcount!" Shikamaru yelled before looking upwards at Temari, who was using her fan as a platform feet above the ground. "Do you see Gaara or Ino?!"

Panicking, she shook her head. "No, I don't!"

Cursing under his breath, Shikamaru walked back towards Chouji, who was now being carried in a large stretcher by more medical ninjas. One of his teammates was missing and the other one was close to death.

"If Victor took her and Gaara went after her, where could they have gone to?"

"Maybe one of them knows where that man could have led them to?" Temari said, jumping off her fan and pointing towards the small group of surviving men in white.

Nodding, the couple ran towards them before the Naruto clones could have taken them back to the village for further questioning. Grabbing one of them by the collar of the shirt, Shikamaru threw the man on the ground.

"Two of my friends are missing and unless you don't want to face our leader, who will be less forgiving than any of us, you are going to tell me where your friend Victor lead them to!"

* * *

Maybe if he still had Shukaku sealed within him, he could have protected Ino better.

Ever since dating the Leaf Kunoichi, that thought always crossed the Kazekage's mind. Although there was no immediate danger the moment their relationship blossomed, Gaara knew that he still had many enemies and he always feared that one of them would hurt her. Sometimes, he cursed himself for losing the one-tailed beast and never being able to control it for his benefit; just like how Naruto was learning to control his. Had he had Shukaku, he would have let the beast out and kill all of those men, so none of them could have ever put their hands on Ino again…

But it was too late now. All he could do is hold the unconscious girl as close to him as possible as he himself felt his mind drift away. He never expected to die this way, but at least he had her in his arms. At least he was able to look at her beautiful face one more time.

Just as Gaara was about to close his eyes for good, he felt a cold wind pass through him. Lifting his head up weakly, he saw as a blue light appeared before a portal opened, his gaze quickly meeting Tenten's.

* * *

Author's Note: Done! I hope you liked this version of chapter 13 better! Next chapter is the last chapter of this fic. Yes, there is a cliff hanger in regards to Tenten's father and I purposely left it at that. You will see (read?) more about it on the next chapter.

please leave me a review!


	14. The End

_~ Two Days Later ~_

Mila Rose smiled as she walked around Tenten's small apartment. The walls were covered with unique weapons. She had heard from Hinata that the bun-haired girl was referred to as a Weapon's Mistress, and she can now see why. Seeing her throw weapons with such precision in the battlefield amazed her, and she knew from whom she got that skill from considering her mother had terrible aim and wasn't a good fighter.

"How is Neji doing?" she asked, her head turning so she met Tenten's brown eyes.

"Much better. Lady Tsunade removed the bullet from his shoulder."

"Good. And what about you?"

Tenten sat down on her couch, watching as the red-haired woman sat on a chair opposite from her. "Confused… I don't know what to believe anymore in regards to my father."

Mila nodded. "I understand, and I apologize for everything. Your father wasn't wrong about your mother… Lillian...and I going to him for help. It was a difficult time back then… a lot of civil wars… Lillian and I just wanted to become stronger and independent in order to be able to protect ourselves… We were young, naive, and stupid… So yes, we did go to him… And he did help us become stronger…"

There was a pause and Tenten raised an eyebrow, wanting the woman to continue. "But?"

"But," Mila said with a sigh, "We were both naive and assumed that we would be okay… Lillian… your mother… did have a consensual relationship with your father… But then things changed and next thing we knew, we became prisoners. At that time, we weren't sure what he and his men were exactly up to, and things slowly changed for the worse. They tested our blood repeatedly until they were able to create a machine small enough to open portals and allow them to travel and hide whenever they wanted. This made it difficult for government officials to find them."

"Were you and my mother wanted criminals as well?" Tenten asked.

Mila shook her head. "No, we weren't. And we didn't kill anyone either. We just wanted to become stronger, not necessarily join those men in whatever they were doing. However, our naiveness led us to a dangerous path. Once we become prisoned, we were both abused. Because your father still had some attachment to your mother, he did make sure that no other man touched her. However, he became violent towards her and did rape her. Rape is something I will never lie about."

Tenten wasn't sure what to think. On one hand, her father ensured that her mother wasn't touched by other men. However, he made her suffer by abusing her. Regardless of the fact that he may have saved her from other men, he still treated her like a prisoner and Tenten quickly figured that her father was possessive. And that was a trait she had as well.

While she always ensured to not create scenes over minimal things, mentally, Tenten knew that she liked to be possessive over a couple of things, especially her weapons.

"What about my mom's parents? Did they try looking for her when you two decided to join my father?"

The woman thought for a second before replying. "I… don't know what the situation is regarding your grandparents. However, they were both strong people and knew how to take care of themselves. Before Lillian and I left, they were alive. I would like to believe that they are still alive and probably still wondering if Lillian is still alive…"

Tenten's eyes widened at the possibility that her maternal grandparents could be alive. "...If there are still alive, will they be difficult to find?"

"Maybe," Mila replied with a sigh, "But I know some people who may know where they are now. And we are Travelers ourselves. I am positive that one way or another, we will find out what happened to them."

Watching as the bun-haired girl sat there with a disbelief look on her face, Mila walked over to her and knelt in front of her. She grabbed her hands and gave them a motherly squeeze, a smile forming on her face. "Tenten… there is so much out there for you to see and experience. Staying in this world limits your abilities. I brought you to this world in order to keep you hidden from the violence that had been going on. But things have improved a lot, and you are capable of taking care of yourself."

"What are you proposing?" Tenten asked, although in the back of her mind, she already knew where Mila was going with this.

"Come with me. Let me introduce you to more of our people. Let them train you and make you stronger. With your ninja skills, your abilities can increase tremendously over there. There are so many resources out there for you to use. All you have to do is open a portal and go…"

A soft knock interrupted the conversation, which Tenten felt grateful for. Although she wanted to keep finding more information about her family, and possibly even confront her father a second time, Tenten knew that there was one thing (or actually, a specific someone) that she did not want to leave behind.

Neji…

Who, of course, was the source of the knock.

Opening the door, Tenten smiled as the Hyuuga prodigy stood right on the other side. Wearing black long slacks with a white button-down, Neji offered her a slight smile as he entered the apartment.

"Well, I guess I better get going," Mila said with a warm smile. "I will need to say goodbye to Hinata first before leaving this world."

A small portal opened behind the woman. "Goodbye, Tenten. And remember, everything is just a portal away…"

Tenten nodded as the woman entered the portal and quickly disappeared.

Her apartment became quiet instantly, the only noise heard were Neji's footsteps as he walked up to her from behind. His hair was not tied at the bottom, which meant that he had just gotten out of the shower and immediately made his way towards her apartment.

"How's your shoulder?"

"Sore, but fine." Neji said, placing both hands on her shoulders and slowly turning her around. "How are you feeling? Did she tell you everything this time?"

Tenten nodded. "She did…. And there may be a chance that my grandparents are alive… And she knows people who can help me find them..."

There was a pause between the couple, and Tenten wondered if Neji could somehow read her mind. While he usually kept a stoic facial expression, right now his expression was different. And Tenten knew that this was due to her desire of needing to know more about her family and the world they come from; and this desire could not be fulfilled with her staying in Konoha.

Cupping her face with his hands, Neji leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. Tenten tiptoed a bit and deepened the kiss, her hands resting on his shoulders carefully while his hands roamed her back smoothly. Between the monsters and the battle, neither of them remembered the last time they had kissed this passionately. But one thing was for sure, it was a moment both of them had needed desperately, and more. Despite his recovering injury, Neji wasted no more time as he lifted her up, allowing Tenten to wrap her legs around his waist while he took them both to her bedroom.

* * *

The Kazekage held her delicate hand while running his thumb over her knuckles.

It had been two days since the battle, and part of him was relieved to know that the enemy was defeated. But more importantly, he was glad that Victor was dead. The man's obsession with Ino was the main reason why the battle even happened, and never in his lifetime before had Gaara ever heard about a man starting a battle over a woman. Nonetheless, the idea was something Gaara had thought the moment he became conscious.

After sleeping for almost half a day yesterday, the first thing Gaara had remembered was how he had killed every single Hunter that Victor had placed in his path, and he knew why the cruel man would do such a thing. He wanted him to be weak the moment he had reached Ino. And while Gaara did sustain injuries with those beasts, his determination was what allowed him to continue searching for her.

"You should be resting," his sister said from behind, and Gaara wasn't surprised at the fact that Temari had just entered the hospital room in which Ino was currently housed in. Ever since waking up, she had been constantly watching over him, just in case his bandages came off and his wound reopened.

"I'm fine."

"Gaara, we have a three-day trip tomorrow to Suna. You need to be in your room, resting."

Despite being the kage of that region, going back to Suna was something he did not want to do at the moment. Not until Ino woke up at least. Ever since being rescued by Tenten, Shikamaru, Temari, and Rock Lee, the blonde Kunoichi had not woken up, which worried the Kazekage tremendously. He did not want to go back to Suna without talking to her first. However, he knew that it was his duty to go back eventually.

"Is that a wedding ring?" Temari asked, and Gaara looked at the small ring in his left hand. "Were you planning on asking her after the battle?"

"I already did."

Temari's eyes widened in disbelief. "And? What did she say?"

"Nothing…" Gaara replied, "She was unconscious. I don't know if she will even remember me asking…"

The sound of someone clearing their throat was heard from behind, and the two Suna Shinobi turned around to Inoichi Yamanaka standing by the doorway. The older man held a vase with some flowers in them.

Standing up straight, Temari greeted the man before saying goodbye to her brother.

After Temari left, there was only silence in the room as Ino's father placed the vase by the window. Gaara didn't bother looking at the man, his gaze still fixed on the sleeping Kunoichi in front of him. Truth be told, he wasn't sure what to say to the man. He knew that Inoichi was not too positive on him dating his daughter, and Gaara understood why. While respect for him had increased in Suna, his birthplace and home, Konoha was a different story. It was just five or six years ago that he had allowed Shukaku to take control and destroy Konoha while killing anyone who got in his way. While he never got to find out who exactly he killed during that time, he wouldn't be surprised if the older man had lost some close comrades due to him.

"A kage fighting for love…" Inoichi said while standing on the opposite side of the bed, "It's not something a Shinobi hears of. Especially when his love is from another village."

Gaara continued to remain quiet, watching from the corner of his left eye as Ino's father turned towards him. "Kazekage, words cannot describe how grateful I am that, once again, you have risked your life for my daughter. I feel as if I am forever in your debt. However, please don't take my daughter away."

At the statement, the Kazekage turned his head towards him, quickly knowing what he was talking about. "I am not taking Ino away from you."

"You may not be… but the distance between Suna and Konoha isn't small…. How will I be able to see my daughter every day? Her loyalty is with Konoha, and I'm sure you understand a thing or two about a Shinobi's loyalty to his village, Kazekage. Besides, how will your village and people treat her? She will be a foreigner there."

"Ino's loyalty to Konoha won't falter. In fact, it can help strengthen the relationship between the two nations." Gaara replied, "And she will be with me. She has visited Suna previously and few villagers already know and welcome her. She refers to my village as a second home already."

Inoichi didn't say anything, knowing that the feelings between his daughter and the Kazekage were strong. He knew that if his daughter had been awake at the moment, she would have been given him an earful about giving Gaara a hard time. It was something he didn't want to interfere, since at the end of the day, all he wanted was to see his daughter happy. And compared to the trouble-making Sasuke boy she used to have a big crush on, the red-haired man was a much better person for his daughter.

"Then make her happy… as happy as you can, Kazekage. And please take care of her for me. I know you will but please, keep protecting her."

* * *

Hiashi Hyuga wasn't too surprised at the statement, and part of him felt disappointed. For years, he had planned on having Neji lead the branch house. He knew that with his nephew leading that side, the tension between the two houses would improve.

But now, said nephew had just given him a piece of news that he knew would happen at some point.

Both of them sat in a common area with a small fire in between. Neji's facial expression remained neutral as he waited for his uncle to reply. Eventually, Hiashi cleared his throat and looked up at him.

"For how long will you be gone?"

"I am not sure," Neji replied, "But Tenten and I will be searching for her grandparents. The search can take time…"

Hiashi remained quiet for a couple of seconds before speaking again. "Neither of you have seen this world before… I'm worried about your safety."

"I understand your concern, Uncle. It is a valid one. But this is important for Tenten, and I need to be there for her."

"I see," his uncle sighed, "When will you both be leaving?"

"Tomorrow noon, right after the Kazekage leaves."

"Then I wish you luck in your journey, and I hope that Tenten finds the answers to her search."

"Thank you, Uncle."

_Next Day..._

"Make sure to bring us something when you return!"

"They're not going on vacation, Naruto." Kiba said, causing the blond Shinobi to pout sadly.

"Eh, something small at least! I'm curious to see what stuff other worlds have!"

"Same here! Please do bring something back, even if it's small." Sakura chimed in, her arm locked around Sasuke's.

Tenten gave a giggle. "We'll try our best to bring some items back."

As Neji and Tenten continued speaking to their friends, Gai sensei and Lee ran towards them with tears running down their faces. Upon seeing their dramatic entrance, Tenten became nervous as to what foolishness the duo would do.

"Oh, my flower!" Gai sensei as he pulled Tenten into a hug, "I am going to miss you! Oh, and we'll miss you too Neji!"

"Please come back soon!" Rock Lee cried.

"We'll try our best." Tenten said, wiping a tear from her face. Despite the fact that Gai and Lee got to her nerves majority of the times with their foolish acts, she knew that she would miss them both dearly. In her heart, they had become that father and brother, respectively, figures that she needed.

"...Neji," Gai said, placing his arm on top of the Hyuga's shoulders as Neji raised an eyebrow at him. "While I understand that sometimes the urges can be… strong…"

"Gai-" Neji growled lowly, his expression darkening as he already knew where his mentor was going with this. He had pulled the same crap before.

"No no, let me finish Neji." Gai said in a sudden fatherly tone. "Tenten may be turning into a lovely young woman, but she's still our young precious flower. And protection must be used when dealing with such delicate beings."

"Gai," Neji warned again, watching as his sensei pulled a box from behind and gave it to him.

"Neji, make sure you always use protection. I don't know if the world you're going to will have them, and I know your uncle may want grandkids by now, but our flower is still too young for that."

Taking the box and quickly placing it inside the duffel bag he had prepared, Neji glared at the green-clad man. "I will keep that in mind…"

As embarrassing as the conversation was, deep down Neji was grateful for the box, as it was something he had not thought to pack before…

The couple continued to say their goodbyes for another fifteen minutes, reassuring everyone that they would be back as soon as possible.

Their friends took a step back as Tenten turned around so her back was to them. Taking a deep breath and then exhaling it, she raised her right arm and closed her eyes, concentrating on the blue particles. The wind around them suddenly changed direction as blue particles began to appear two feet away from her. The particles increased in dimension, taking the shape of a large rotating circle. Putting her arm back down, Tenten stared at the object in front of her, knowing that the moment she stepped inside, things would be very different. Everything she knew about ninjas and chakra would probably not matter, and may not even help her.

"Ready?" Neji asked as he took her left hand in his.

Turning her head to meet her lover's silver eyes, Tenten nodded as they began to walk towards the portal. They both turned their heads back towards their friends one last time before stepping inside. As soon as their bodies were within, the portal quickly closed, eradicating anything that indicated that the two ninjas had even been there.

_~ XX ~_

At first, they were met with some darkness, but soon, the darkness disappeared and they were suddenly standing on top of a large building. Over them flew mysterious objects, and Tenten remembered her father calling them ships. To her left was a wide body of water with small boats on them. But the boats on them looked very different; many of them didn't have sails.

"Welcome, Neji...Tenten," Mila said as she stood in front of other people, all of them wearing matching clothing, "To Exerium."

* * *

_Two weeks later_

The Kazekage was tired, but he wouldn't say that out loud, especially around his overprotective sister. Ever since returning to Suna, he had been immediately pulled into multiple meetings with the council. They wanted an update about what truly happened on the battle, and reassurance that those men wouldn't be coming back. After that long conversation, the next set of days consisted of more meetings in regards to the village's improving economy, education, and military. One area that the village still needed help with was medical and while his councilmen discussed about bringing Shinobis from other villages to help them, Gaara's mind quickly went to Ino Yamanaka.

He had kept the wedding ring in a small drawer in his office, hoping that one day the boisterous Kunoichi would show up. Three days after arriving to his village, he had received a scroll from Naruto, letting him know that Ino had finally woken up after being in a medically induced coma for days. However, she had been under close supervision by her mother the moment she had started asking about the Kazekage. Considering her injuries, Gaara knew that it would probably take another two weeks for her to be able to travel to Suna, and with the assistance that is. Despite his neutral facial expression, inside Gaara was anxious in seeing her again. He had thought about writing a scroll and sending it to her, but wasn't sure what to say. Would she even remember his proposal to her? Being caught up with meetings and visitors from other villages, Gaara's time to actually write the scroll had diminished.

It was a quiet night in Suna as he picked up a carton of milk for the cat Ino had adopted over a month ago. When he had arrived in Suna, Kankuro told him that the small feline wouldn't stop meowing and sleeping on top of the bed Ino had slept on whenever she would visit Suna. The puppet master had tried shooing the cat away, but the animal would just come back. Not wanting to dispose of one of the items that he and the blonde girl shared, Gaara let Kankuro know that it was fine and decided to take personal responsibility of the cat. So every morning before going to his office, he would pour milk on a small bowl for the feline and feed it again upon coming back. There were nights where he would come home late from work, like today, and find the cat sitting in front of the door, meowing while waiting for him.

Gaara walked up the few steps to the floor which housed his apartment. Pulling a key out, he quickly unlocked the door and froze.

Someone was inside.

And not just someone, but a Kunoichi with a very familiar chakra. Not only that, he could hear the cat purring too.

"Oh, I've missed you too Kitty! I'm so happy to see that Gaara has been taking good care of you. I was starting to get worried…"

"Meow…"

"Yes yes, I know, he can be scary… But see? I told you he can be an amazing guy!"

The front door opened wide and Gaara entered quickly, closing it right away and walking inside swiftly. Placing the milk on top of the side table next to the couch, the Kazekage stared at the blonde kunoichi lying on the floor. Her hair was down, fanning across her shoulders, as she lightly scratched the top of the cat's head. Gaara knew that he was tired, but he also knew that he wasn't hallucinating.

There, lying on the floor of his living room, was Ino Yamanaka… wearing one of his t-shirts and black panties. On top of the sofa, he noticed a while after, was a hospital gown, and he suddenly grew worried. Did she escape the hospital and run to his village with nothing but a hospital gown? It wasn't even possible, considering her injuries.

The girl in thought suddenly stopped petting the cat as she finally felt his presence and turned around, standing up weakly but placing her hands on her hips, and he knew he was about to get a lecture about something.

"It's about time you got home!" Ino said, her right foot tapping impatiently on the floor. "Oh, and you're out of milk! Kitty here has been hungry and-"

"Ino."

And just like that, she stopped talking as Gaara quickly walked towards her and pulled her into a hug, his hands cradling her head. Ino returned the hug as she buried her face onto the crook of his neck, her arms wrapping around his neck.

"When did you get here?" he asked, his eyes narrowing. "How did you get here? You should be in the hospital, recovering."

Ino gave a nervous chuckle "Well… I got here today… and actually, Tenten paid me a visit today!"

Gaara remembered that she and Neji had left Konoha and traveled to a different world in order to search for any missing relatives of hers who could still be alive.

"She felt bad about leaving and not saying goodbye to me, so right before I went to sleep today, she opened a portal and showed up. She said that everything was going well, and there was so much to see… She asked me if there was anything I needed and I asked her if she could bring me here."

Gaara blinked in disbelief as Ino continued speaking. "I told her to bring me to your apartment, since I didn't want some portal opening in the middle of your village and causing your people to panic."

"And you forgot to at least bring some clothes with you?"

Ino blushed as the corner of his mouth lifted slightly. "I was in a hurry, and so was Tenten. She, Neji, and few others were going on a dangerous mission to find her grandparents. And besides, considering my answer to you is yes, you will have to get used to the idea of me running around with whatever I want!"

At the confused look Gaara was giving her, Ino giggled again and pressed her lips against his softly. "My answer to you is yes, Gaara. Yes, I will marry you."

He kissed her passionately, but the kiss was soon broken as he felt the cat's tail rub against his ankle. That's right, the milk.

"Wait," Gaara ordered and Ino giggled as she saw Suna's strong kage take off his guard and place it by the corner of the room before quickly walking towards the kitchen with the carton of milk, Kitty walking impatiently behind him.

* * *

Tsunade sat quietly as the researcher in front of her finished explaining to her the usage of one of the weapons that their enemies had brought for the battle. It was a small room, the only ones present being Kakashi-sensei, Gai-sensei, Shizune, Jaraiya, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke.

"It's a very strong weapon," the researcher continued, "and can kill thousands instantly. However they created this is...genius! The chemicals inside of it travel at such high speed that it seems impossible."

The presentation of the weapon lasted fifteen more minutes, and upon finishing, the man left the room. There was a long silence before the Hokage finally exhaled.

"I remember something Orochimaru had told me many years ago," she said, her eyes fixed on the weapon lying in front of them, "That there were things out there far out of our reach… Worlds that we would never comprehend… At first I thought he was crazy because, well, he's Orochimaru…"

Tsunade stood up and walked over to the weapon, tracing an index finger over it. "But now, I wonder if he knew something… If maybe, somehow, he knew that there are other humans out there, far from our reach, and maybe a few of them are in our villages…"

"Like Tenten…" Sakura said lowly, yet audible.

"Yes," Tsunade said, "If it weren't for that mission, Tenten would have never learned about her true parents and her unique ability. But that begs the question… if there are other humans in our villages and neighboring ones, how would we know if they are foes? And if they decide to pay us a visit, how would we defend our home?"

* * *

**And DONE! I will admit, I am glad to be finally finishing this story. I think a lot of people liked it, originally, but then...something happened and I guess no one cared for it. But still, I wanted to finish it. **

**I decided to end it with a non NejTen or GaaIno scene because I wanted the other characters to reflect on the fact that there are humans from different worlds out there, and even though they may not have chakra or aren't strong ninjas, they carry strong weapons that can cause significant damage. So, how can you protect your village and people from such threat?**

**Let me know what you think about that!**

**Also, I wanted NejTen to end with both of them leaving Konoha in search for more of Tenten's relatives (and father too). I have a sequel in mind for this but it would only be NejTen and that would be a SciFi and Adventure (with romance, of course) fic since the different worlds they'll be visiting will be a Star Wars/Trek like environment. In a way, it'll be AU since they will be introduced to things like space ships, traveling from planet to planet, and more guns and other cool space stuff.**

**But, I don't know if I have enough inspiration for this. Therefore, if anyone wants to try this storyline out, you can PM me and we can work together on plot and all. I won't want to write it (I am NOT the best writer lol) but I can help with reviewing and discussing story plot.**

**Anyway, thanks all who have left me reviews and favorited and followed and ETCCCCC. Please let me know (criticism are welcomed!) what you thought in a review down BELOW (I think the button is down below...) :) **


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